Lieberman wants ‘decisive’ policy against Hamas to join Netanyahu coalition

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said that he did not succeed in forming a coalition government because some parties are insisting on their positions and refuse to budge, Arab48 reported.

He said he hoped to find a way to return these parties onto the right track in order to form a “strong” and “stable” government.

Netanyahu’s close friends said that Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beiteinu, has sets conditions related to dealing with Gaza and enlisting the Haredim in to the army and these are creating obstacles to the formation of a government. The conscription law which Lieberman is calling for doesn’t have the backing of Netanyahu’s other coalition ally; the United Torah Judaism party.

Lieberman said that he would not go for the defence ministry again without a promise from Netanyahu not to interfere in his decisions.

READ: Israel’s Netanyahu could form minority government as coalition talks founder 

“The IDF [Israel army] has detailed plans, Netanyahu is familiar with them, the time has come to implement them,” Haaretz reported Lieberman as saying. “I will not agree to be defense minister again in a situation in which policy is decided but not implemented.”

Monitors reported by Mikor Rishon said that he would not increase his demands so his voters don’t accuse him of undermined a new-right wing government.

“I have no interest in torpedoing anything. I have stated, and I mean it, that we will not support any alternative candidate [for prime minister]. But we will also not forgo any of our demands.”