RAMALLAH: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu inked a coalition deal with an ultranationalist party yesterday, in the first step toward forming a right-wing government.
Netanyahu’s Likud signed an agreement with the Israel Beitenu party of Avigdor Lieberman, a controversial and racist leader who is due to become the foreign minister in the new government.
The deal came as prosecutors told the Supreme Court that police were continuing their inquiries into nine-year-old graft allegations against the foreign-born ultranationalist amid suspicions he was continuing to break the law, army radio said.
The accord struck by the Likud with Lieberman’s party was careful not to shut the door on the formation of a broader coalition, specifying that if agreement was reached with centrist parties, the distribution of portfolios might change.
A right-wing coalition is likely to put Israel at odds with its main ally, the United States, where President Barack Obama has vowed to vigorously pursue the peace process with the Palestinians.
Egyptian Foreign Minster Ahmad Aboul Gheit expressed concern that Israel’s shift to the right could have dire consequences for the peace process.
“If they would implement what they’ve been talking about over the last few years, then all of us face dire difficulties and the most extreme of situations,” he told members of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Israel Beitenu officials said that in addition to the Foreign Ministry, the party will also get internal security, infrastructure, tourism and integration of new immigrants. The agreement marks the first Netanyahu has reached since being tasked with forming a new government in the wake of a Feb. 10 parliamentary election.
Lieberman’s lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court yesterday alleging “harassment” by the authorities over nine-year-old accusations of fraud, abuse of confidence, money laundering and illegal campaign financing.
There was no immediate ruling from the court but prosecutors insisted that police would continue their inquiries after refraining from summoning Lieberman in recent weeks because of the coalition talks involving his party.
Prosecutors alleged that he had received “very large sums of money from abroad” through front companies, army radio reported.
Ahmed Tibi, an MP with the United Arab List, urged the European Union to boycott Lieberman if he becomes foreign minister. “I urge European foreign ministers not to recognize this fascist who advocates the expulsion of Arabs,” he said.
Lieberman supports keeping Israel’s largest settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank in exchange for transferring heavily Arab populated areas in Israel to Palestinian control. He also wants Arab Israelis to take a loyalty oath as a condition for receiving government benefits. Netanyahu is hoping to present his government to Parliament by the end of this week to avoid asking for an extension that will give him until April 3 to form a Cabinet.
2 Israeli cops shot dead
Meanwhile, Palestinian fighters shot dead two Israeli policemen in the West Bank late on Sunday, the first incident of its kind in the area for several months.
In Gaza, a spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said a little-known group called the Imad Mougniyeh Unit had claimed responsibility for the attack.
