Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched surprise talks on Wednesday with his former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, the head of Yisrael Beiteinu party, on bringing him into Israel's coalition government, where he would likely become defense minister.
Netanyahu, who won a fourth term last year, governs by a majority of one in the 120-member Knesset. It had appeared for the past several days that a course had been set for Isaac Herzog's center-left Zionist Union, which has 24 lawmakers, to agree on an alliance with Netanyahu's right-wing Likud.
However, in a surprise move, Lieberman, who heads the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, convened a news conference on Wednesday to say he was ready to negotiate a pact with Netanyahu. Yisrael Beiteinu has six Knesset seats. According to media reports, Lieberman wants the defense portfolio for himself as well as new legislation that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians carrying out terrorist attacks.
Within minutes of the offer to talk, Netanyahu announced he would hold talks with Lieberman, and the two convened at the Prime Minister's Office.
Herzog then froze his own negotiations with Netanyahu. "Until Netanyahu chooses which option he is ready for, towards which option he is headed, we will not negotiate with him in parallel," he said in a speech, but stopped short of declaring his talks with Netanyahu dead.
