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ISRAEL’S DEFENCE MINISTER Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation earlier today, following a ceasefire from recent hostilities with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
His resignation came after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, which ended the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 50-day conflict in 2014.
However, the move has thrown the ruling Likud government into turmoil, opening up the chance of early elections.
But why did he resign in the first place, and what does it mean for the future of Netanyahu’s government?
What happened during the latest spate of violence?
On Sunday, a new offensive between Israel and Palestinian militants began when around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired at Israel, the most ever in such a brief time period according to the country’s army.
The violence saw seven Gazans killed in 24 hours as Israeli strikes targeted militants and flattened buildings, sending fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky.
An anti-tank missile hit a bus near the Gaza border that Hamas says was being used by Israel’s army. An Israeli soldier was severely wounded.
In all, some 27 Israelis were wounded, three of them severely.
So why did Lieberman resign?
After a ceasefire was announced yesterday, Lieberman denounced the move as “surrendering to terror”.
Lieberman has long called for action against the Palestinian movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, and recently made clear that he disagrees with Netanyahu’s strategy.
A security hardliner, he leads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, which holds five seats in the Knesset, Israel’s 120-seat parliament.
His resignation followed criticism of a decision by Netanyahu’s to allow Qatar to transfer millions of dollars in aid to Gaza for salaries and fuel to ease an electricity shortage.
Political considerations have also likely played a role in his decision.
By resigning, Lieberman takes five seats from Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition, leaving the prime minister with a slim one-seat majority (61 out of 120 seats).
There has long been speculation that elections will be called before November 2019, when they are due.
It may be that he sees now as an opportune time to quit and seize momentum for his small party, which holds fewer seats in parliament than Netanyahu’s Likud and his rivals from the far-right Jewish Home.
What does it mean for Netanyahu?
One of the main reasons Netanyahu negotiated got Lieberman to join his coalition in 2016 was to give himself some breathing space in parliament.
The government formed after 2015 elections was already seen as the most right-wing in Israel’s history, long before Lieberman joined.
In theory, it could survive until the end of its four-year term, but it remains at the mercy of the various parties’ interests and those of Netanyahu himself.
But no Israeli government has served a full term in 30 years.
Likud says early elections will not be necessary and that Netanyahu is now seeking to stabilise the coalition.
But Jewish Home, the party of Education Minister Naftali Bennett, was threatening to withdraw if he is not given the now-vacant defence portfolio.
Netanyahu would likely be reluctant to grant such a position to Bennett, one of his main rivals on the right.
Would an election be good for Netanyahu?
Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for 12 years, could surpass Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion’s if he manages to last until next year.
Polls suggest that he and his Likud would be favourites should polls be called, but it’s unclear if the recent Gaza escalation will affect that.
There has been speculation for months that Netanyahu may opt for early elections, particularly with the police having recommended charges against him in two corruption probes.
The attorney general is expected to decide whether to bring charges in the months ahead, and the thinking is that he would be better placed to combat them with a fresh electoral endorsement.
However, if he was to call an election, he would want to do so at the most advantageous time, and now may not be ideal if he is facing criticism over the Gaza ceasefire.
With additional reporting from AFP.
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Half a billion for than 20 miles of road.
This is HALF of what it costs in urban areas of the US. Half.
Just plain mismanagement and probably corruption.
We Irish can’t do big projects.
@Chris O’Brien: was thinking the same,but also 200 million in 21,and now 450 million 2 years later
@Chris O’Brien: So it costs 1 billion in the US??
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: Didn’t spot that, nice one.
@Chris O’Brien: what corruption are you talking about??
@Liam23: The corruption in his head.
@Chris O’Brien: great country:) Al Capone was less of a gangster than the shower running this country he’d be amazed he was a joke next to them
Single carriageway roadway….Wow let’s celebrate like its the 1930s. Perfect proactive solution not to include passing lanes on new construction. Car with trailer max speed 80km; car behind it max speed 100 with no safe area to pass, what could go wrong? Solution they come up with rather than acknowledge their failure is to reduce speed limits to 80 for all. Simple decisions designed by simple minds.
@Irish Conservative: Completely new road and area relatively flat so road should be straight enough, similar to Ballagh/Charlestown bypass. Overtaking slower traffic should not be a problem with a bit of common sense.
@Bert Carolan: It is usually the volume of on coming traffic that creates the problem for passing. Single carriageway roads are Seven times (7x) more dangerous compared to dual lanes per Road Safety Foundation. Building passing lanes to alleviate congestion safely is common sense.
@Irish Conservative: If your stats are correct then fair point, though I do think we have a tendancy in this country to blame roads and speed limits for accidents rather than driver behaviour.
They should continue the M4 all the way to all the way to Sligo and be done with it. Small-minded thinking again, like we don’t want any of those 10-story skyscrapers in Dublin.
God they were depressing towns to go through…all the same I’ll miss them..
@hi from heaven: Strokestown not bad. I won’t miss the stretch of road, you could be stuck behind a truck for miles.
Take a detour through Clondra and it’s 3 bridges sometime just to see what the main road used to be like.
@hi from heaven: well I won’t miss them, has to be the worst stretch of road in the country
@Bert Carolan: Took a trip just now, thanks Google Streetview and oh my! It was barely designed for an ass and cart!
13.2 million a kilometer…. Is it the heated road or something.
@JJ Dolan: in fairness there will be no bends in it. Straight as f%ck, like whoever builds it.
Watch whoever gets the contract milk the taxpayers like a prize cow. I’ll bet the same road could be built abroad for a fraction of that cost. We have a reputation as being prime for riding when it comes to construction, we just bend over every time
More than doubled in price! Will probably cost €600 million. The country is run by buffoons!
@Fred Coloe: not fair on buffoons
@Fred Coloe:
True but then the guy who but I the bid of €200 million went bust……
I’d be more concerned that the contract is a bit more water tight than the children’s hospital one.
It didn’t really double in price… same as the childrens hospital, they low ball and then add on extras..
Only difference is road bridge bluff was called on a couple of projects that they had done previously and hence went bust..
@hi from heaven:
Bullseye
€450m…..So the final cost will be closer to €600m
Something wrong with the costings here for a Single Carriage Way Road, the new 30 Klm A6 Derry to Dungiven Dual Carriage Way has just been completed at a total cost of £250 Million Stg, which is a lot cheaper per Klm than it is in the South.
It would be nice to get a breakdown on where the money goes. How much to planners, how much to engineers, ect
Will have to make Strokestown detour for chips in Antonelli’s …
Taking the aul roads in I see
The money was all spent on archaeologists, ecologists, planners and lawyers – the “make work” crowd. People need to remember that money spent by the government goes somewhere – it doesn’t just go into a black hole – it goes towards paying labourers, digger drivers, quarries, tarmac contractors, plant hire companies, engineers, fuel suppliers, mechanics and a lot of the local shops will see a lot more trade during construction. SO this money goes into the economy – OUR economy, it helps stimulate economic growth, it helps people put food on the table and pay their mortgages, it provides employment in an area of the country that has suffered underinvestment for generations. It’s about time the NW got some of what Munster & Leinster have – capital expenditure and investment.
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