According to this report in Globes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to confront the Histadrut, Israel’s national trade union centre, over the issue of privatisation of the country’s ports.  The unions, and in particular the powerful ports worker union, oppose the privatisation measure.

“I am telling the Histadrut that it’s over. 2,000 people will not strangle us and will not paralyze the economy. Nothing will deter us. We must do this well, but we will do it,” said Netanyahu.

Globes reports: “The Histadrut and the ports’ workers committees oppose the plan for the new ports, demanding that the new ports be absorbed by the Ashdod Port and Haifa Port. They have threatened that allowing the operation of private ports would be a declaration of war.”