Friday, June 12, 2009

Sources: Netanyahu to broaden Coalition after speech,Kadima split expected

(Jpost).Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu does not believe that any of the parties in his coalition would leave at this stage if his diplomatic policies shifted leftward in Sunday's address at Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, sources close to Netanyahu said Thursday.

The sources said the Right learned lessons from toppling right-wing governments in the past, including Netanyahu's first administration, which led to left-wing governments that expedited diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria.

They said that from his meetings with coalition partners, Netanyahu got the impression that they understood the pressure he was under from US President Barack Obama's administration and the need to maintain close ties with America ahead of key decisions that would have to be made regarding Iran.

Regardless of what happens with the Right, Netanyahu is expected to publicly call for Kadima to join the coalition in the days after Sunday's speech.

Sources close to Netanyahu admitted that the prime minister did not believe that Kadima leader Tzipi Livni would be willing to bring her party into the coalition no matter what he would say in his speech.

They said a call to Kadima to join would only be intended to cause tension inside Kadima that they hope could lead to an eventual split in the party.

Within the next two week, the Likud will formally propose the so-called "Mofaz bill," which would make it easier for the former Likud minister to break off from Kadima and return to his former party.

Several Kadima MKs have said in private conversations that they were still hoping to join the coalition, but only Shaul Mofaz and Ronit Tirosh have said so publicly.

"If in the speech, Netanyahu says he would act according to the road map and he recognized the need for two states for two peoples, then he would be accepting Kadima's views and there would be no reason to remain outside the coalition," Tirosh said. "I don't know why others in the faction are afraid to say so publicly."