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Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli hard-liner who was
named defense minister on Wednesday, recently issued a typically blunt
ultimatum to Ismail Haniya, the leader of Hamas, the Islamic militant group
that controls
“If I were defense minister,” Mr. Lieberman told an audience
last month in the southern Israeli city of
“Either you return the bodies and the civilians,” he warned, referring to two Israeli men and the remains of two soldiers Hamas is holding in the Palestinian coastal enclave, “or you are dead. From my point of view, simply reserve yourself a plot in the nearest cemetery.”
Becoming defense minister was Mr. Lieberman’s main condition for a deal that augments Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition by adding Yisrael Beiteinu to it.
The move increases the government’s number of seats to 66, from a precarious 61, in the 120-seat Parliament. The addition of Yisrael Beiteinu also buttresses the hawkish image of a government already dominated by right-wing and religious parties.
As the deal was announced, Mr. Lieberman sounded far more conciliatory. “My responsibility is for a level-headed policy that will bring stability to the region, to our country,” he said, adding that he intended to work in close cooperation with Mr. Netanyahu and the military.
Yet Mr. Lieberman, the foreign minister in two previous Netanyahu governments, is a polarizing figure with little direct experience in security affairs, and he has a long record of bellicose threats. His appointment has alarmed many in a country perennially on the brink of military conflict, and it led to charges that Mr. Netanyahu’s party, Likud, had put its political survival above the well-being of citizens.
“Considering the importance of defense in Israel and that our children serve in the army, we need the best person possible in that position,” said Moshe Arens, a former minister of defense and of foreign affairs from Likud. Calling Mr. Lieberman’s appointment a “mistake,” Mr. Arens said that, while the demands of coalition politics required compromises, these “have to stop at the Defense Ministry.”
As well as his aggressive stance against Hamas, Mr. Lieberman has called for the ouster of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Together with Naftali Bennett, the education minister and
the leader of the right-wing party Jewish Home, Mr. Lieberman was highly
critical of the handling of the 50-day war in
In an interview with a Gaza-based news agency, Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader in the Palestinian coastal enclave, called Mr. Lieberman a “loudmouth” and a “coward” and dared him to approach Gaza.
Until recently, the exchanges between Mr. Lieberman and the government he is joining were no less acerbic.
At the gathering in
Likud issued a response at the time saying that Mr. Lieberman “did not meet the threshold requirements” to be a military analyst, and the party described him as “a man who has only heard tennis balls whistle past his ear,” rather than bullets.
For all of Mr. Lieberman’s bluster, many Israeli analysts predict that he will become more pragmatic once he takes office.
“When you sit in the chair and consider the consequences of your decisions, things look different,” said Amos Harel, the military affairs analyst of the liberal newspaper Haaretz.
Mr. Harel and others cited the lyrics of a popular Israeli song that Ariel Sharon — a hard-liner who, as prime minister, evacuated all Israeli forces and settlers from Gaza — turned into a political mantra: “Things you see from there, you can’t see from here.”
Mr. Netanyahu also tried to play down the significance of the appointment. “In the end,” he said, “the prime minister is the one who navigates all the campaigns, along with the defense minister and the chief of staff.”
Mr. Lieberman’s appointment comes at a delicate time
diplomatically.
As foreign minister, Mr. Lieberman, an immigrant from
Mr. Lieberman has also said that
A State Department spokesman, John Kirby, expressed the administration’s admiration for Moshe Yaalon, who quit as defense minister on Friday, but he added, “Our bonds of friendship are unbreakable, and commitment to the security of Israel remains absolute.”
Mr. Netanyahu said that his government would continue to
seek peace with the Palestinians, and Mr. Lieberman said on Wednesday that he
was equally committed to reaching a final status agreement. He has, however,
set his own terms for a deal, including transferring some towns populated by
In recent days, Mr. Netanyahu welcomed what appeared to be a
behind-the-scenes move for a regional conference hosted by
Shmuel Sandler, a political-science professor and expert on Israeli foreign policy at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said that some Arab leaders were ready “not out of love for Zionism but because of their own interests, to accept Israel as a legitimate actor.”
“It will be sad if we miss that opportunity because of domestic politics,” he added.
There is also concern over what kind of working relationship Mr. Lieberman will have with the army’s top generals, having recently positioned himself as their adversary.
His appointment comes as
Mr. Yaalon, a former chief of staff, stood firmly with the military, while some other ministers fanned the populist ire.
In a case that has roiled Israel, Mr. Yaalon and the military chiefs were uncompromising in their condemnation of a sergeant, Elor Azaria, who shot and killed a disarmed Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay wounded on the ground. The soldier has been charged with manslaughter and is on trial in a military court.
Mr. Lieberman showed up at the military court to support the soldier and called the legal proceedings “theater of the absurd.”
In a Facebook post, he wrote, “I hope that at the end of the process the soldier will be acquitted and it will be clear to everybody that it is the right of every Jew, and especially of a soldier, to protect himself from a terrorist who has come to kill him.”