Avigdor Lieberman Named ’Israeli’ War Minister

Local Editor

The controversial right-wing "Israeli" politician Avigdor Lieberman agreed to bring his "Yisrael Beitenu" party into the "Israeli" entity's governing coalition.

The deal, which shores up "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's one-seat majority in parliament, will see Lieberman appointed war minister.

The expanded coalition is the most right-wing in the "Israeli" entity's history.

The move led Moshe Yaalon, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, to quit as war minister in protest on Friday.

The former general warned that the "Israeli" enatity was being taken over by "dangerous and extreme elements".

Lieberman, who has twice served as the "Israeli" entity's foreign minister, has a reputation for inflammatory comments and takes a hawkish stance towards the Palestinians.

Since winning a fourth term in office last year, Netanyahu said he would explore bringing a sixth party into his coalition to widen its majority in parliament.

Wednesday's deal will give the "Israeli" primer control of 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. He previously had 61, which made it difficult to pass legislation.

Before agreeing to bring in "Yisrael Beitenu", Netanyahu had engaged in negotiations with the Labor Party, amid international pressure to resume talks with the Palestinians.

France recently announced it would host an international conference on 3 June to try to revive the peace process, which collapsed amid acrimony in 2014.

Netanyahu insisted his expanded coalition will remain committed to pursuing peace with the Palestinians. But Lieberman had voiced skepticism in the past.

At one point he suggested toppling the Palestinian Authority. A few weeks ago he threatened to kill a Hamas leader if the movement did not return the bodies of "Israeli" soldiers killed in the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team