Israel: Olmert brings Lieberman’s far-right party into government

As a member of the foreign and defence committees and other “security cabinets,” and reporting directly to the prime minister, Lieberman will be one of the inner circle making Israel’s key decisions. He will be more powerful than either the defence or foreign ministers, Amir Peretz and Zippi Livni, both of whom are from the Labour Party.

Lieberman is an ultra-nationalist and notorious racist, who in 2001 advocated using nuclear weapons against Tehran as well as bombing Palestinian civilians and targeting Egypt’s Aswan High Dam. He is in favour of the ethnic cleansing of Israeli Arabs.

His appointment signifies a major shift to the right within the Israeli political establishment on both domestic and foreign policy. This shift presages sharp class struggles in Israel and new wars that will further destabilise the region.

Lieberman’s inclusion in the cabinet confirms that Israel is opposed to any resolution of the Palestine conflict on terms other than the establishment of a “Greater Israel.”

As Ha’aretz opined, “The choice of the most unrestrained and irresponsible man around for this job constitutes a strategic threat in its own right.”

Within days of Lieberman joining the government, Israel threatened to invade Egypt to prevent Palestinian militants smuggling arms into Gaza and launched a massive military offensive against Gaza, the most extensive since last June, in order to stop the firing of crude homemade Qassem rockets on towns and villages in the south of Israel that rarely prove fatal.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/nov2006/isra-n13.shtml