After rising tensions between the two, the foreign minister informs the PM that he is dissolving Likud Beiteinu, taking his party back to independent status within coalition.
Moran Azulay
The head of Yisrael Beiteinu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, on Monday morning informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his intention to dissolve his party’s joint faction with Likud, saying that it was “not working”. Lieberman told the prime minister that he intends to return to operating as an independent faction as before the two parties’ pact ahead of the 2013 general elections.
The decision comes against a backdrop of Lieberman’s fierce criticism of Netanyahu for Israel’s tempered response to Hamas as the rocket strikes continue from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
“It hasn’t worked and it’s not working,” Lieberman told reporters at a press conference in Jerusalem early Monday afternoon. But he stressed that “I will not dismantle the coalition.”
“Recently, the differences of opinion between the prime minister and myself have become fundamental and over principles,” Lieberman. “The truth is, that the relationship did not work during the elections, did not work after the elections and to date there have more than a few technical problems, (and) when technical problems become fundamental problems there is no point in hiding from it.”
But, the foreign minister stressed, “We remain loyal partners in the coalition, and are the last to want it to collapse. The establishment of the Yisrael Beiteinu faction is definitely a significant step, but it is also a significant step to strengthen the coalition. This coalition was from the beginning a variegated one with the greatest ever ideological disparities.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minster Avigdor Liberman (Photo: Gil Yochanan)
For the first time since the elections, Lieberman’s camp said Sunday night that the foreign minister was furious at Netanyahu’s criticism of him during the weekly cabinet meeting earlier in the day.
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There have been some public clashes between the two recently, the most serious of which related to the fact that despite their political alliance, Netanyahu did not update Lieberman on his last-minute decision to support the candidacy of Reuven Rivlin for president.
Since the abduction of Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gil-Ad Shaer, and in particular over the last few days, the foreign minister has stepped up his criticism of Netanyahu and his leadership. Those close to Lieberman claim he believes the prime minister has taken a weak stance and has a stuttering policy.
Sunday’s cabinet meeting saw yet another confrontation after Netanyahu rebuked ministers for giving interviews on the subject of the security situation. Lieberman, who believed that this was indirect criticism leveled at him, hit back vocally at the prime minister.
The two held a long meeting on Monday morning, apparently to end the tensions between them, but Lieberman announced that he intends to dismantle the joint faction and return to being an independent party within the coalition.
In April, Lieberman told Yedioth Ahronoth that Yisrael Beiteinu would run separately in the next elections.
The move means that Israel Beiteinu becomes the fifth largest Knesset faction, with 11 MKs, while Likud is left with just 20 seats. Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party has 19 seats, and Labor has 15
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
Would you like me to send a few dozen Mexican Cartelistos ? Cartelistos have not problem with bloody retributions.
@ honeybee:
Actually there is some action now but hardly convincing.
Hamas must suffer massive losses and must lose all of its war material. Anything else is just window dressing.
SHmuel HaLevi 2 Said:
” Operation Mariposa de las Calles”.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
I read in the paper this morning the Peres say the deaths of the Arab boy made his him ashamed for Israel. Please, if you see him tell him honeybee ain’t, she don’t believe in collective guilt.
bernard ross Said:
Too early to speculate. If Moshe Kachlon runs as a separate party he will drain a lot from the Likud, Shas and Lieberman.
@ honeybee:
OK. 🙂
SHmuel HaLevi 2 Said:
The speechafier will speechify.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
A song for Don Fantastico: http://youtu.be/b6UAYGxiRwU http://youtu.be/34FxtEyRgIw
I stand corrected. The speechster will speechify. Watch his side standing for profile and face making. He is well trained at that.
BTW. Just released in the nus… The so called idf launched another of them dime a dozen Gaza operations with fancy names and no real ammo.
SHmuel HaLevi 2 Said:
Have you forgot you American Southwestern English already,,, it’s speechify. Politicians ” speechify” and then they don’t do ****!!!!
@ honeybee:
We are all havin’ fun waiting for don el fantastico Netanyahu to speech all over the place and make faces for the TV audience. He can also send the Peres garbage to go kiss butt with the Islamic partners of his. I am sure Livni will join in the kissing.
@ Bear Klein:
Good questions Bear.
Four years ago the Jewish Nana Tea Party was named.
Our Platform, finalized in 2003 expresses the plan to demolish the present Israeli “combina”, not to join it. There is nothing worth keeping in the rotten cauldron of the israeli “families elites” and their political generals garbage. They can then continue to sabotage each other in jail waiting to be judged by new freely elected courts on charges of high treason
The people will freely elect reps of their regional choosing to the New Jewish National Assembly. This will entirely replace the “knesset”.
The supreme courtiers and all other self elected courtiers will be dumped and new Judges elected by the people and the Assembly.
Copy of the Platform was widely circulated since then and everyone that we care to be in the know is aware of that.
The Platform is available TO ALL.
@ yamit82:
does this mean the center left will take the next government?
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
@ Bear Klein:
All yawl and yawls families OK.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2: So which party are you running with or are you forming your own party and if yes what will it be called?
@ Bear Klein:
The likud while the specimen is there will continue to sink.
Leaders. There are hundreds far better than the liar now there.
NONE of us want to sully ourselves entering the present cesspool. Only after a full take down of the “combina” good people will enter politics.
Who is the strong Nationalist Zionist Leader Israel should see lead it? Ideas anyone?
Wrong!!! Carmel Shama who replaced Rivlin on his election to the Presidency will become the Israeli Rep to the OECD. Next on the party list is Miller a member of Lieberman’s party giving him 12 mandates and the Likud 19. Likud thus loses it’s majority status in the Knesset and coalition as Lapid’s party also has 19 mandates.
BB has managed to destroy the Likud twice and they are deserving of such a fate. They placed petty politics and support of BB over the national interest and the Likud’s interest. They have no good reason to exist.
Perversions like the Likud in Israeli politics must end.
I predicted elections to be announced by December and it looks like my prediction is on track.
If not a feign, it will mark the start of the end of the nefarious Netanyahu era. Never too soon.
Netanyahu is an untrustworthy, weak, lying, deceitful, cowardly individual and probably worse. He must go and with him Livni, Lapid, Weinstein, several generals and police staffers.
When Netanyahu was booted out the first time, that was to stay that way.