Netanyahu and Lieberman Formalize Coalition Deal
Benjamin Netanyahu signed a coalition agreement with Yisrael Beiteinu in which he reportedly will name Avigdor Lieberman foreign minister.
The agreement was signed late Sunday night, according to reports, and gives the controversial party the tourism, infrastructure and immigrant absorption portfolios, as well as the chairmanship of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
The parties agreed that the deal could change in the event of the formation of a unity government. Netanyahu, the prime minister-designate, is still negotiating with Kadima Party head Tzipi Livni in a bid to form a broad coalition rather than the narrow right-wing government he has now.
Hours before the agreement was signed, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Netanyahu to form a broad coalition and threatened to deal differently with a government that does not commit to a two-state solution for making peace with the Palestinians.
“We will be ready to do business as usual, normally with a government in Israel that is prepared to continue talking and working for a two-state solution,” Solana told reporters. “If that is not the case, the situation would be different.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
