(Haaretz).Israel's next government will be "more Jewish and more Zionist", the confident faction leader of the right-wing National Union party declared Thursday, following coalition talks with members of Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.
"There was very positive atmosphere at the meeting [with Netanyahu]," said Yaakov Katz, as he emerged from the talks at Kfar Maccabiah in central Israel. "...There is an understanding with Likud that the next government will be more Jewish and more Zionist."
Netanyahu, who was tapped to form the next government following national elections two weeks ago, initially turned to mainstream Kadima and Labor, but was rebuffed. Some Kadima members are, however, rebelling against party leader Tzipi Livni's determination to sit in opposition, and urging her to join a Likud-led coalition.
But a senior member of Likud said Thursday that differences over Palestinian statehood are likely to scupper Netanyahu's efforts to forge a broad government with Livni.
"There is across-the-board agreement on Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas but there is a big gap between Kadima and Likud on the two states for two people. It's unsolvable," Silvan Shalom, a senior Likud legislator and former foreign minister, told Army Radio.
