Avigdor Leiberman, a staunch right-wing Israeli lawmaker, is soon to be appointed a minister in the Israeli government.
Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party will join the coalition, led by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Qadima party. He will be made deputy prime minister, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office for strategic affairs and a member of the security cabinet.
Lieberman’s main focus in this capacity will be on the Iranian threat to Israel.
According to an agreement finalized between Lieberman and Olmert on Monday evening, Lieberman’s new appointment will not infringe on the authority and duties of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, head of the Labor Party.
Yisrael Beiteinu has 11 seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
Olmert plans to convene the cabinet on Tuesday to approve the new appointment before it is presented to the Knesset for authorization.
Lieberman’s new appointment has generated sharp criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. Dovish parliamentarians and government ministers say Lieberman will surrender the government to radical right-wing positions and will compromise civil rights.
The Labor Party’s Central Committee is scheduled to convene next week to decide whether Labor should remain in the government after Lieberman is brought in.
Right-wing politicians are also criticizing the decision, claiming Yisrael Beiteinu is abandoning its principles to join a left-wing government.