Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to supporters as he stands next to former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman at the Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv January 23, 2013. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
JERUSALEM, May 23 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been called a political genius several times during his career.
His latest move may be characterized as just that by his supporters. Yet again, he taught politicians, journalists and ordinary citizens a lesson in politics.
Since May 2015, Netanyahu has led a narrow coalition of 61 out of 120 members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
According to Moav Vardi, a political analyst for Israeli Channel 10, "Netanyahu wanted to expand the government at all costs."
After weeks of speculation that Netanyahu was broadening his coalition by bringing in the dovish Zionist Union party, the Israeli premier stirred things up and, in another twist of the plot, it was announced that negotiations with the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party had matured into an agreement.
A final agreement between the two parties has not been signed yet, but it seems just a matter of time.
Lieberman would join the Likud and the Jewish Home party to make a hard-line Israeli government.
Theoretically, this may mean a tougher stance on negotiations with the Palestinians, but most likely there will be no major change.
Leader of a right-wing party, Avigdor Lieberman is to be appointed as Israel's defense minister. He is set to replace Moshe Yaalon who resigned from the position and from the Likud in response to the political move.
Yaalon is considered one of more moderate members of the Likud party. His departure was a signal for many that the government is headed to a more hard-line position.
Lieberman did a stint as foreign minister in a previous Netanyahu government. During Israel's war with Hamas in the summer of 2014, he pushed for a greater Israeli offensive in Gaza. He is considered by many as an ultra-nationalist, right wing politician.
Before his appointment as the foreign minister in 2009, there was also great skepticism. Although his statements, mainly about the Palestinians, were controversial, it appeared his bark was bigger than his bite. His threats against Israeli-Arab citizens never materialized, but they did poison the atmosphere and still do.
Lieberman, a Russian-born immigrant who arrived in Israel at the age of 20, has reportedly backed down from his demand to promote legislation making the death penalty an option for people convicted of attacking Israelis in politically motivated attacks.
For Netanyahu, Lieberman is a natural partner. Leader of the right-wing Likud party, it makes much more sense to match-up with Lieberman than with Isaac Herzog -- leader of the Zionist Union.
Herzog as Netanyahu's biggest coalition partner would have put a more moderate front for Israel internationally, but with Lieberman as a top cabinet member, things will not change much for the small country.
In an attempt to pacify the international community, Netanyahu opened his weekly cabinet meeting with a statement saying that his new government "will continue to seek peace process with the Palestinians with the assistance of actors in region."
It's hard to imagine such a process with Lieberman who just one month ago said that he would give Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in Gaza, a 48-hour ultimatum to return the bodies of Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas, or be killed.
Hours before the political shake-up was reported, Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi made a statement saying he was willing to make every effort to promote a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Sissi was referring to the Arab initiative from 2002 which proposes that Arab countries normalize their relations with Israel in response to Israel withdrawing from territories it occupied in 1967 and handing them over to the Palestinians.
Netanyahu is still adamant that only direct negotiations between the two sides will bring about a solution, thus continuing to reject international efforts to mediate.
Vardi believes Lieberman will not hinder a political process.
"The problem is not Lieberman. The problem is the Jewish Home party. Netanyahu is satisfied with the status quo and that is why chances are nothing meaningful will happen," he explains.
While Lieberman has proven to be more of a pragmatic politician in the past, the Jewish Home party led by Education Minister Naftali Bennet can be less flexible as its voter base is more homogenic in its right-wing orientation than Lieberman's.
"Netanyahu is tightly bonded, almost enslaved, to his right-wing base," which makes a political settlement with the Palestinians and the Arab world almost impossible, said Vardi.
It is difficult to see how Netanyahu will make any concessions towards the Palestinians with the new government but this is not only due to Lieberman's presence.
Should the Israeli premier decide he wants to make a substantial move, he will be able to find different political partners within the parliament to give him the support he needs. This will require a departure from his ideology.
"Until now Netanyahu has rejected all the conditions. But people (the international community) want to see new facts on the ground or some sort of statement. You cannot make progress with the Arab states without making progress with the Palestinians," Vardi said.
Netanyahu has bought himself political stability with the expansion of the new government. Chances are slim that he will jeopardize this stability by making bold political moves.
by Keren Setton
