JERUSALEM/FILE: PM Olmert enlists far right minister to broaden coaltion

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert moved closer on Monday (October 23) to shoring up a government under fire over the Lebanon war by adding a far-right party whose leader wants to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Announcing a widely expected political partnership, Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beitenu party, told reporters after meeting Olmert: "We are joining the government." Lieberman said he hoped a coalition agreement would be finalised by Monday. Olmert's bid for a larger coalition follows opinion polls showing a significant decline in his popularity and that of his government over their handling of the recent war in Lebanon in which the army failed to crush Hezbollah guerrillas. "The government guidelines won't be changed," Olmert said, in an apparent signal to his centrist Kadima party's main coalition partner, left-leaning Labour, there would be no dramatic policy shifts once Lieberman came on board. Nonetheless, Yisrael Beitenu's participation in the government would likely ensure Olmert's signature plan to dismantle dozens of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, while strengthening others remained on the shelf. Olmert announced after the 34-day Lebanon war ended in August the "realignment" plan on which his centrist Kadima party won election in March was no longer a pressing issue on the government's agenda. Hezbollah's launching of nearly 4,000 rockets at northern Israel from territory Israeli forces quit in 2000 raised fears among many Israelis that West Bank pullbacks would leave the centre of the Jewish state vulnerable to Palestinian attack. With the addition of Yisrael Beteinu, Olmert would control 78 seats in Israel's 120-member parliament, up from just 67 that currently support him, enhancing his prospects of passing a 2007 state budget on time. The Labour Party, with a critical 19 seats, was divided over Lieberman's addition to the government and some lawmakers have vowed to fight it. But some said Labour would eventually assent to Lieberman joining the government rather than drop out of the coalition, a move that could hurt its popularity further after the Lebanon conflict in which the party's leader, Defence Minister Amir Peretz, played a central role. Lieberman, a 48-year-old immigrant from the former Soviet Union, has advocated annexing West Bank settlements and transferring some Arab towns in Israel to a future Palestinian state. The burly former nightclub bouncer founded his party, whose name translates as "Israel Our Home", in 1999 and served twice as a cabinet minister. He was fired by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2004 for opposing the withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip that Israel carried out last year.

ITN Source | October 24, 2006

Tags:. .conflict. .budget. .dramatic. .closer. .cabinet