Post by Paddy by Grace on Mar 9, 2009 18:36:39 GMT -7
www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=10657
Bibi has already indicated he will give up half of the Golan after promising that he would not give it up.
Who’s da boss?
By Ted Belman
Netanyahu was given the right to form a coalition government because all the parties on the right supported him. Rather than embrace them in the first instance, he chased after Kadima and Labour to no avail, at least so far.
That left him with a potential coalition of 65 seats. But he never really wanted to be so far to the right. He is really a centrist.
Haaretz reports Netanyahu yields to Lieberman’s demands for government posts
[..] Agreeing to all of Lieberman’s demands is also the price that Netanyahu must pay for his decision not to include the National Union in his coalition - a decision that leaves him with a coalition of just 61 MKs. Despite the efforts of his closest advisers to warn him off forming such a narrow coalition, Netanyahu is concerned that his government will be seen as too extremist if it includes Kahane supporters from the ranks of the National Union. In addition, he cannot meet their coalition demands.
“If he agrees to authorize the settlements that the National Union has requested, he will do irreparable damage to his relationship with the State Department,” another source involved in the coalition negotiations said. “Under these circumstances, it’s clearly in Netanyahu’s best interests to agree to Lieberman’s demands.”
If Bibi is not prepared to alienate the State Department, what hope is there? To my mind he had to take a forceful stand on building at least the settlements that have been announced such as in Efrat and Maaleh Adumin. What’s at stake here is who is going to be he boss, Bibi or the State Department.
The State Department is forging ahead with Syria expecting that Israel can be forced to give into Syria’s demands in exchange for “peace”. The only issue for the State Department is what concessions can it ring out of Syria vis a vis Lebanon, Iran and Iraq.
Bibi has already indicated he will give up half of the Golan after promising that he would not give it up.
By excluding the National Union, Bibi is giving a clear message that building settlements is not his prioriy but pacifying the State Department is.
Bibi has already indicated he will give up half of the Golan after promising that he would not give it up.
Who’s da boss?
By Ted Belman
Netanyahu was given the right to form a coalition government because all the parties on the right supported him. Rather than embrace them in the first instance, he chased after Kadima and Labour to no avail, at least so far.
That left him with a potential coalition of 65 seats. But he never really wanted to be so far to the right. He is really a centrist.
Haaretz reports Netanyahu yields to Lieberman’s demands for government posts
[..] Agreeing to all of Lieberman’s demands is also the price that Netanyahu must pay for his decision not to include the National Union in his coalition - a decision that leaves him with a coalition of just 61 MKs. Despite the efforts of his closest advisers to warn him off forming such a narrow coalition, Netanyahu is concerned that his government will be seen as too extremist if it includes Kahane supporters from the ranks of the National Union. In addition, he cannot meet their coalition demands.
“If he agrees to authorize the settlements that the National Union has requested, he will do irreparable damage to his relationship with the State Department,” another source involved in the coalition negotiations said. “Under these circumstances, it’s clearly in Netanyahu’s best interests to agree to Lieberman’s demands.”
If Bibi is not prepared to alienate the State Department, what hope is there? To my mind he had to take a forceful stand on building at least the settlements that have been announced such as in Efrat and Maaleh Adumin. What’s at stake here is who is going to be he boss, Bibi or the State Department.
The State Department is forging ahead with Syria expecting that Israel can be forced to give into Syria’s demands in exchange for “peace”. The only issue for the State Department is what concessions can it ring out of Syria vis a vis Lebanon, Iran and Iraq.
Bibi has already indicated he will give up half of the Golan after promising that he would not give it up.
By excluding the National Union, Bibi is giving a clear message that building settlements is not his prioriy but pacifying the State Department is.