Lieberman to be Israel defence minister

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Reuters

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Avigdor Lieberman and Benjamin Netanyahu signed the coalition deal in parliament

The controversial right-wing Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman has agreed to bring his Yisrael Beitenu party into the country’s governing coalition.

The deal, which shores up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s one-seat majority in parliament, will see Mr Lieberman appointed defence minister.

The expanded coalition is the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

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

The former general warned that Israel was being taken over by “dangerous and extreme elements”.

Mr Lieberman, who has twice served as 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, Mr Netanyahu has said he would explore bringing a sixth party into his coalition to widen its majority in parliament.

Wednesday’s deal will give the prime minister control of 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. He previously had 61, which made it difficult to pass legislation.

“Broadening the government, with the inclusion of the Yisrael Beitenu party in the nationalist coalition, is an important and required step that will ensure its stability,” Likud negotiator Yariv Levin said in a statement.

Before agreeing to bring in Yisrael Beitenu, Mr Netanyahu had engaged in negotiations with the Labour Party, amid international pressure to resume peace 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.

Mr Netanyahu has insisted his expanded coalition will remain committed to pursuing peace with the Palestinians. But Mr Lieberman, who lives in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, has voiced scepticism 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 militant Islamist movement did not return the bodies of Israeli soldiers killed in the 2014 war in the Gaza Strip.

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Lieberman to be Israel defence minister
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