Word: knesset
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...have to return to basic principles and put this back together again. You've got a new U.S. Administration determined to take this forward, and you've got an Israeli government that at least is going to be empowered to make decisions [because of its majority in Knesset]. For all these reasons we're back in with a shout. (See pictures of Tony Blair's friendship with George W. Bush...
...Israel Coalition Takes Shape Israel's Labor Party has agreed to join a Cabinet led by Prime Minister--designate Benjamin Netanyahu, giving him enough support in the 120-seat Israeli Knesset to form a viable coalition government. The decision by the center-left Labor Party's leader, Ehud Barak, to unite with the largely right- wing coalition has caused tension among the party's members, many of whom oppose Netanyahu's stance against peace negotiations with the Palestinians and have threatened to break away. Tzipi Livni's centrist Kadima Party, which in fact won the most votes in February...
...swearing-in speech before the Knesset, Netanyahu appeared to soften his tough stance on the Palestinians, directing his words as much toward Washington as to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu, who leads a sprawling coalition of right-wing and religious parties that is tempered by the center-left Labor Party, vowed to improve economic, security and political ties with Israel's Arab neighbors. "We do not want to rule the Palestinians," he said. But nowhere in his speech did he mention the two-state solution championed by Washington. (See pictures of 60 years of Israel...
...Netanyahu does, however, have a few strong cards. His coalition passed the Knesset vote with 69 out of 120 seats, a huge margin by Israel's fractious standards. He has shown himself to be a shrewd deal spinner, and his government may stand a better chance of arm-twisting the Knesset into accepting a U.S.-sponsored peace deal than a weak, center-left government ever could. As for Lieberman's belligerent views toward Arabs, Netanyahu aides hasten to say the Premier himself will handle ties with Washington and Arab neighbors. (See pictures of life under Hamas in Gaza...
...Netanyahu has finally pieced together a majority of at least 66 Knesset seats. But there are no guarantees that his coalition will last its four-year term. Members of his own Likud Party are grumbling that Netanyahu has given away too many ministerial portfolios to woo both Labor and the hard-right party Yisrael Beitenu of Avigdor Lieberman, who is likely to become the next Foreign Minister, despite his extreme anti-Arab views. (See a TIME video on Lieberman...