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.

Weakened badly by last summer’s war in Lebanon, Olmert agreed last week to bring in Yisrael Beiteinu to shore up his shaky coalition. The party’s blunt-talking leader, Avigdor Lieberman, will be deputy prime minister in charge of “strategic threats,” primarily how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

In today’s meeting, the ministers voted 22-1 to accept Yisrael Beiteinu into the government. In a final stamp of approval, the full parliament was expected to follow suit in vote this evening.

With Yisrael Beiteinu’s 11 politician on board, Olmert is expanding his parliamentary majority to 78 of 120 seats, bringing some much-needed stability to a coalition riven by infighting after the Lebanon war.

However, Olmert appears to have little interest in reviving his West Bank withdrawal plan, which was put on hold after the Lebanon war, and does not appear close to reviving long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians.

Olmert has said including Lieberman in the government would not result in any policy changes.

Olmert’s spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the government’s main priorities right now were rehabilitating Israel’s North, which was bombarded with thousands of rockets during the fighting against Hezbollah guerrillas during the summer, and dealing with Iran. She made no mention of the Palestinians, signalling the issue is low on Olmert’s agenda.

Asked about the omission, Eisin said: “The Prime Minister has stated repeatedly that the Palestinians are a key issue. There is a question of who you address and how you address a complex situation.”

Israel has boycotted the Palestinian Authority since Hamas militants won legislative elections early this year and formed a Cabinet. Olmert has expressed willingness to talk to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate rival of Hamas, but the two sides have been unable to agree on even a limited agenda.

Lieberman, 48, became a national figure a decade ago as a top aide to then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A powerful behind-the-scenes mover, he became widely feared for his strong-arm tactics.

He has grown into a potent political force since then, thanks to the support of Israel’s large community of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Lieberman, a former bar bouncer, immigrated to Israel from the Soviet republic of Moldova in 1978.

His comments about Arabs have made him a divisive figure.

At the height of fighting against Palestinians in 2002, Lieberman, then a Cabinet minister, called for the bombing of Palestinian gas stations, banks and commercial centers.

More recently, he called for trading Israeli Arab towns for West Bank settlements – in effect stripping Israeli Arabs of citizenship – and executing Israeli Arab politicians who met with leaders of the Palestinians’ Hamas rulers, who are sworn to Israel’s destruction.

His comments have drawn accusations of racism.

“Israel’s No. 1 fascist has been upgraded to deputy prime minister and minister,” said Ahmed Tibi, an Arab Israeli politician. He said Lieberman’s appointment was a message to the entire Arab world that “this government advocates rejectionism and the absence of a political process”.

Despite earlier misgivings about Lieberman, Olmert’s main coalition partner, the centrist Labor Party, yesterday decided to remain in the government, concluding it could serve as a counterweight to Lieberman more effectively inside the government than from the opposition.

Labour Cabinet minister Ophir Pines-Paz was the lone dissenter in today’s vote.