Building Bridges: Lieberman - a strategic threat

At the end of March 2006, Israel's citizens voted unambiguously for compromise and national agreement and awarded the "Kadima" party leadership of the country. For the first time in 2 decades, the 'Center-Left' - including Kadima, the pensioners' party, Meretz, Labor and the Arab parties - had the majority in government, with 70 Mks. The Likud, with Binyamin Netanyahu at its head leading a hawkish, right-wing stance, was crushed and won only 12 mandates, while Lieberman followed closely  with 11 mandates.

Based on the results of the votes, Israel Beitenu's (Israel Our Home) entry into the government was, in fact, a slap in the face for the average voter who expressed, again unambiguously, deep mistrust for the politics of the Right-wing extremists.

From the first day of his entry into the government, Avigdor Lieberman behaved as if it was his party that won the vote and as if the 'fundamentals of government' was but an unworthy, decorative document, not to be given any meaning whatsoever. Instead of accepting the general population's decision and taking his place on the opposition's bench, Lieberman decided to act from within by joining the government in an effort to torpedo any political progress.

The government became paralyzed. Instead of acting to evacuate to outposts and delineating the country's borders, the government did not dare evacuate not even one illegal caravan.

Lieberman even succeeded in affecting the Annapolis conference, and after a series of threats and intimidations, the PM surrendered to the pressure and emptied the conference of any significant content. Lieberman's highly-covered visits to Har Homa and illegal outposts only added to  international embarrassment and to the government's feeling of helplessness in the face of Lieberman's very public opposition.

The Minister of Strategic Affairs himself became a strategic threat to every development toward any compromise and dialogue with the moderates in the Middle East.

Leiberman's method succeeded, even partly, in bringing about this situation and grinding the whole government to a halt. Even the subject of the 'core issues' became an excuse to threaten the coalition. As far as Leiberman was concerned, we can talk with the Palestinians no more than we can talk about the weather.

His resignation from the government is the PM's only chance to survive politically and to fully take advantage of this window of opportunity for peace. Israel Beitenu's exit will allow this coalition to really start acting according to its basic and fundamental premises.

Without Lieberman, the government can now seriously address the outposts issue, freeze settlement expansion and use every opportunity to advance the peace process in a significant way. Leiberman, who represented the central threat to a political process with the Palestinians, will go back to his roots and join the right-wing extremist opposition lead by Netanyahu.

The Olmert-Barak government, on the other hand, will receive its last chance to lead Israel to a peace agreement with the Palestinians; a commitment it promised to undertake on the eve of the elections.