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.
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At the signing ceremony, in which Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party formally agreed to join Netanyahu’s Likud, both men switched from Hebrew to English to deliver a message to the global community.
That year, he created Yisrael Beitenu, capturing the support of numerous more than one million Jews who emigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union, an electoral base that has expanded considerably since. The coalition now has 66 out of 120 seats. Other right-wing groups called for stopping the “illegal EU-sponsored Palestinian construction in West Bank”, and expanding settlement construction.
Lieberman is famous for inflammatory comments. Yaalon had said that Netanyahu’s government was being overrun by extremists.
Netanyahu told Valls on Monday that Israel prefers a bilateral meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that he would be willing to meet him “in Paris or wherever” and that “every hard issue will be on the table”. He has threatened to assassinate leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and to topple the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Israel has a death penalty for certain cases, but it has never been enforced. “A broader government – a more stable government will make it easier to do so”.
Addressing concerns about their alliance, both Netanyahu and Lieberman voiced messages of moderation Wednesday. He also promised a “balanced policy”.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. 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 USA will judge the coalition on actions, not rhetoric.
The last round of peace talks broke down two years ago due to wide gaps between the sides. This government “will naturally have as consequences apartheid, racism and religious and political extremism”, he added.
Lieberman’s spokesman said the deal would be signed in parliament, at 1330 IST. He called Wednesday’s appointment “a day of sorrow”. It has also drawn ire for regular anti-Arab statements.
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. “He is inciting against the Arab citizens”.
Lieberman, who has not yet been sworn in, is seen as an outsider by some in the military.
“If he has pretensions to reach the top, he’ll have to change”, he said.
In 2001, the former nightclub bouncer advocated bombing the Aswan Dam in Egypt, accusing Israel’s Arab neighbour of supporting a Palestinian uprising. “We’ve worked together before for the security and welfare of the people of Israel”.
Lieberman’s swearing in as defense minister was expected to take place next week, with Netanyahu holding the second-most important cabinet post in the interim.
Yaalon was forced out after siding with his commanders in a series of disagreements with political hard-liners.
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In March, Lieberman showed up at a military court where a soldier, Sergeant El’or Azaria, faced murder charges for killing a Palestinian who had stabbed a soldier.
