Israeli Cabinet votes to bring hard-line party into govt

The Israeli Cabinet today voted overwhelmingly to bring into the government a hawkish party that opposes ceding territory to the Palestinians and wants to redraw Israel’s borders to exclude many Israeli Arabs.

The vote, which still needs parliamentary approval, gives Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s coalition a commanding majority in parliament. But the inclusion of the hard-line Yisrael Beiteinu party likely puts an end to Olmert’s election campaign promise to pull out of much of the West Bank.