Off the wire
• Taiwan parties, groups rally for adherence to 1992 Consensus  • German constitutional court to rule on ECB bond-buying program in June  • Portugal celebrates International Museum Day with free neighborhood tours  • Norway awards 10 new drilling licenses in Barents Sea  • Roundup: EU says relocation of asylum seekers remains unsatisfactory  • Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, May 18  • Portugal needs no additional measures to meet deficit target: PM  • 1st LD-Writethru: Xi stresses adherence to family planning policy  • De Boer leave Ajax with a victory over Liaoning  • Badminton athletes from 15 countries/regions to take part in Vietnam tournament  
You are here: 　 Home

Israeli PM forms negotiation teams to enlist nationalist right-wing party into gov't

Xinhua, May 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hawkish lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman decided on Wednesday to form negotiation teams amid efforts to orchestrate the entry of the Lieberman's party into the government.

The two met on Wednesday afternoon, after Netanyahu "urged" Lieberman, the hawkish head of the nationalist Israel Beytenu (Israel is our home) party, to meet with him and discuss entering the coalition.

Netanyahu's Likud party issued a statement following the meeting, saying it was conducted in a "positive atmosphere" and that the two politicians decided to form negotiation teams.

Lieberman's demands include legislating a law seeking the death penalty to terrorists, and the position of defense minister, currently held by the Likud party's moderate figure Moshe Ya'alon.

Israeli media outlets reported shortly after Netanyahu and Lieberman's meeting that the Israeli prime minister did, in fact, offer Lieberman the defense portfolio.

The move comes after a week of reports of alleged contacts between Netanyahu and the head of the center-left Labor party, regarding Isaac Herzog's possible entrance into the government.

Herzog, who was criticized by members of his party for negotiating to join Netanyahu's right-wing government, said earlier on Wednesday he is "suspending" talks with Netanyahu as long as negotiations between the Likud and Israel Beytenu are underway.

Earlier this week, Channel 10 news aired leaked recordings of Herzog as saying there is a "rare opportunity" to engage in diplomatic contacts with the Palestinians, painting it as a reason to join Netanyahu's coalition.

On Tuesday, Herzog and Netanyahu welcomed statements by Egyptian President Adel-Fattah al-Sisi on the necessity of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, with Egypt playing a mediating role in the contacts.

Israeli pundits charge Netanyahu's efforts to increase the size of his coalition on both ends of the political spectrum are part of his desire to stabilize his coalition, which has a slim 61-59 majority in the Israeli parliament, rather than promote diplomatic initiatives with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu and Lieberman had worked together in the past, and have run a joint list in the 2013 elections. Lieberman had, among others, served as the Israeli Foreign Minister.

Netanyahu's current government marks a year to its formation this month, after Netanyahu's party won the majority of votes in the March 2015 national elections held across the country. Endit