He entered politics as a top aide to Netanyahu in the 1990s before forming Yisrael Beitenu, a secular, ultranationalist party whose base of support is the large immigrant community from the former Soviet Union.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his choice for defense minister, ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman, signed a coalition agreement on Wednesday and issued assurances that the most right wing government in Israel’s history would act responsibly.
Mr. Lieberman, a controversial political figure who twice served as foreign minister, has in the past made polarising statements about assassinating Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and beheading Arab citizens of Israel who were disloyal.
“Since the government was established a year ago, I sought time after time to widen the government”, Netanyahu said Wednesday at the signing of the coalition agreement.
Netanyahu has sought to ease fears over Lieberman’s expected appointment, with the new defence minister having previously called for “disloyal” Palestinians to be beheaded, saying he will continue to seek peace with the Palestinians and oversee the defence ministry’s policies, which include control over the occupied West Bank.
Until then, the coalition formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a minimum majority – 61 from 120 seats in the Knesset (Israeli parliament).
“Provided the Israeli government is ready to commit to a discussion around the Arab peace initiative … it would be possible to have some steps of normalization along the way to give confidence to this process”, says Blair, according to Haaretz. But he was protective of the military when it came under fire from ideologically-driven hardliners. Lieberman, a settler in the West Bank, the heartland of the Palestinians’ hoped-for state, is an outspoken critic of the Palestinian leadership.
Over three decades, he has at times been Netanyahu’s closest ally and other times been a fierce rival.
He has angered neighboring Egypt with comments in the past, including a suggestion that Israel bomb Egypt’s Aswan Dam. At the swearing-in ceremony, Netanyahu took a conciliatory tone, saying his government is committed to pursuing peace with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu has said the coalition deal, which prompted Moshe Yaalon, a Likud member and former general, to quit as defense minister in protest on Friday, would stabilize the government and enable policymaking.
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Lieberman, known for his hardline stance on security matters, said, “We are all committed to peace with our neighbors”.
