State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the USA is particularly concerned about the number of ministers in the new Israeli cabinet that have been publicly opposed to the two-state solution, though he added that the U.S. will judge the coalition on actions, not rhetoric.
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With the collapse of coalition talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog last week, Lieberman agreed in principle to bring his five MKs into the government and become Defence Minister. Israeli analysts say that in the end, Bennet will get what he wants, and the agreement will be approved, paving the way for Lieberman to be sworn in as Defense Minister next week. “This raises legitimate questions about the direction it may be headed in. and what kind of policies it may adopt”.
The controversial Lieberman, Israel’s former foreign minister, will join his Yisrael Beitenu party with Netanyahu’s Likud in a coalition government.
EVER since his fourth election victory in March 2015 Binyamin Netanyahu has been trying to broaden his coalition, which, with only 61 members, had the slimmest of majorities in Israel’s 120-member parliament.
Lieberman will take over as defense chief in place for former military chief Moshe Yaalon, who resigned earlier this week following the political shakeup. “Together with the heads of the security forces, we will continue to maintain the security of Israel’s citizens and will do so with determination and responsibility”. “All of us have commitments to peace, to the final status agreement, to understanding between us and our neighbors”, he said. He also is a West Bank settler. “Israel should learn the true lesson from making peace because there can be no peace and no stability in the region unless the Palestinian cause is resolved”. During the latest coalition negotiations, he tried but failed to force the government to approve the death penalty against Arabs convicted of terrorism.
The commentator said that Netanyahu’s conduct in criticizing the army over recent comments by generals as well as his waffling over the Hebron shooting of a subdued Palestinian assailant by an IDF medic. “A broader government – a more stable government will make it easier to do so”. Critics have pointed at Liberman’s scant military experience. In 2001, he said he would bomb Egypt’s Aswan Dam in the event of a war between Israel and Egypt. His predecessor, Moshe Yaalon, was forced out after backing the military in a series of disagreements with political hard-liners.
Avraham Diskin, a political scientist at Hebrew University, said Lieberman is more pragmatic than commonly thought but also is unpredictable and problematic for Netanyahu. Lieberman went to the court to offer his support to the soldier.
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Lieberman, Israel’s former foreign minister, has come under public scrutiny for questioning Arab-Israelis’ loyalty to the state and attempting to pass legislation that would require Israelis to sign a loyalty oath or have their citizenship revoked.
