“Lieberman has already caused a lot of embarrassment to Israel, and now he will be leading the army”.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shifted his government even further to the right with the addition of the right-wing nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party.
In a surprise move last week, Lieberman, who has had a testy relationship with Netanyahu, voiced his willingness to negotiate a coalition agreement after it appeared the Israeli leader was nearing a deal with the Zionist Union.
David Shimron, a lawyer for the Netanyahu family, said “there was no double-billing”, and that the Israeli leader had “raised tens of millions of dollars for Israel Bonds”, which underwrite securities issued by the State of Israel.
Palestinian analysts expect that the chances for the success of the French initiative to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestine “are slim” amid Israel’s insistence to reject it.
One of Israel’s most divisive leaders, Lieberman, 57, is known for a sharp tongue that has offended allies and opponents at home and overseas.
Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party will become the most centrist element of a coalition that will represent an alliance between the religious right and the nationalist right.
The 59-year-old has always been known for extremist rhetoric, such as suggesting during the 2015 election campaign that Israeli Arabs who are not clearly loyal to the state should be beheaded. She also previously held the position until 2015. Opinion polls indicate that the Israeli public is also ambivalent about the re-emergence of Lieberman, with 29% backing him, and 50% preferring Ya’alon.
Why does Netanyahu want Lieberman’s party in his government?
Likud Minister Yariv Levin, who has headed the party’s coalition negotiating team, said that Bennett’s demands were being taken seriously and were important.
In Israel, much legislation is hammered out in the Cabinet – made up of coalition members – and members of the Knesset from those coalition parties are expected to endorse those decisions with their votes. A single member of his coalition could potentially block legislation.
The US-backed two-state solution, promoted by US President Barack Obama and shunned by the Israeli premier, has so far failed to bring about any prospect of peace in the region.
“Such a decision is extremely unsafe – Lieberman, who has called for the beheading of Palestinians and for their transfer outside the state of Israel, is a serious threat to peace and stability, and his appointment will generate a culture of lawlessness, extremism, violence and hate in Israel”.
Netanyahu has called on France to cancel the meeting, saying it gives the Palestinians an excuse to avoid face-to-face negotiations.
Netanyahu commented on his almost 30-year relationship with Liberman, underlining that “now we are joining hands to move Israel forward”. Some of these groups have been called traitors by Lieberman. The now-fired defense minister, Moshe Ya’alon, responded to this controversial remark by urging military officers to continue to speak their minds.
“Not only is Lieberman appealing to the most right-wing constituency in Israel, but he is a politician that needs to expand the outreach of his political party”. Lieberman, on the other hand, has no military experience.
“We have come a long we way, we worked together for the benefit of the Israeli government”.
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Mr Hoffman believes Mr Lieberman won’t actually be able to exert as much authority over his new portfolio as he may like.
