- Title: FILE: New government agree on domestic issues, not mideast peace - analyst
- Date: 14th March 2013
- Summary: JERUSALEM, (FILE, JULY 2008) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) VARIOUS OF NETANYAHU MEETING THEN U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BARACK OBAMA
- Embargoed: 29th March 2013 12:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA1YXDDL4MGNELQR6F4DULBYEA
- Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a deal for a governing coalition in which a new centrist party will serve as his main partner, a spokeswoman for his right-wing Likud party said on Thursday (March 14).
Spokeswoman, Noga Katz said Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu list would be allied with centrist Yesh Atid led by political newcomer Yair Lapid and far-right Jewish Home, headed by high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett.
It will include a smaller centrist faction led by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and control at least 68 seats in the 120-member parliament.
Political analyst and former Jerusalem Post journalist Amotz Asa-el said the coalition could fall apart over a credible peace plan.
"There will be disharmony amongst this government and in such an event in all likelihood its right wing flank will find itself cornered and possibly leaving this coalition, and leaving the way for Labour to enter in its place but we're nowhere at the moment near such an eventuality actually happening," Asa-el said.
The right wing party that is part of this coalition is led by Naftali Bennett, who is on record opposing the creation of a Palestinian State.
But the creation of a Palestinian State is viewed as the recipe for a lasting peace deal in the Middle East.
Asa-el predicted the first issue the government will tackle will be national economics, where all of the coalition elements are in agreement.
"They all see eye to eye economically and the issues that the government will now be facing will be largely economic and they will jointly execute a very deep and ambitious budget cut which is what the economy here at the moment needs. So, I think initially there will be great harmony," he said.
Israel held a general election in January in which centrists made surprising gains at the expense of Netanyahu's conservative Likud-Beitenu party.
Netanyahu's traditional coalition allies, ultra-Orthodox parties now at odds with Yesh Atid and Jewish Home over social benefits and military draft exemptions for religious Jews, will not be in the new coalition.
"The fact that the ultra-Orthodox parties are outside of this coalition allows the government to do ambitious budget cuts because they will be allowed to cut all kinds of allocations that ordinarily would have gone to ultra-Orthodox causes," Asa-el said.
Coalition agreement signing ceremonies are expected later on Thursday, with a new government likely to take office next week before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama. The deal was reached just three days ahead of a March 16 deadline for Netanyahu to announce a new government. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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