Israeli President Peres selects Netanyahu to form new government
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Israeli President Shimon Peres selected Hawkish Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to form the new government. (UPDATED)
"The president has made a decision regarding the formation of the government and the presidency will summon Deputy Benjamin Netanyahu at 14:15 (12:15 GMT) to entrust him with this task," AFP quoted a statement issued by Peres’s office.
The announcement came after Peres met separately with Netanyahu and his Likud party rival Tzipi Livni, hoping to convince them to form a broad government alliance.
The choice of Netanyahu was cemented on Thursday when Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party, endorsed the Likud leader.
Livni's Kadima edged out Likud in the election, capturing 28 seats to Likud’s 27. But Likud is in a better position to put together a coalition because of gains by Lieberman and other hard-line parties.
Netanyahu now can form a hard-line government or bring Livni into a broad coalition that would provide more stability and help Israel avoid a clash with the Obama administration and much of the world.
Emerging from her meeting with Peres, Livni said she would not join a hard-line government and was prepared to sit in the opposition "if necessary."
"I will not be able to serve as a cover for a lack of direction. I want to lead Israel in a way I believe in, to advance a peace process based on two states for two peoples," Livni was quoted by AP as saying.