Livni: Center-Left must Unite to Beat Netanyahu

Tzipi Livni appearing Friday night on Channel 2's 'Ulpan Shishi' program called for Shelly Yechimovich and Yair Lapid to meet as early as Saturday night to unite in a joint mission to defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu, and form a center-left front prior Jan. 22 to have an impact on the election results.

Livni said that such a meeting, with the two other leaders of center-left parties, must take place as soon Saturday.

"There are three parties that share their beliefs in one central issue: we believe that the government that will be established will lead to the downfall of the state of Israel," Livni added. "This is our goal – to replace the current government, and it's important that the public will know that it is voting for a group that is sticking together."

Tzipi Livni indicated that she might give up on her previous demand to be number 1, which foiled the attempt to unify the 3 parties last month, saying personal issues are not on the table at this point.s voters must know that regardless of whom they like and prefer, they should vote for either party, believing that the three have a unified mission to replace Netanyahu as Prime minister with someone of the center-left bloc.

Livni's deceleration is seen to be in response to Shelly Yechimovich's pledge not to join the Likud-led government, and to Environment Minister Gilad Erdan's statement Thursday during an appearance on the "Mishal Cham" program on Channel 2 that in any case, even if Livni's party joins the coalition, she will not be involved in peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinian Authority.

Erdan made it clear that he was speaking on behalf of Netanyahu, saying that Netanyahu had personally assured him that Livni "will not take part in any negotiations with the Palestinians."