Avigdor Lieberman reminds me of Clinton,

when Clinton claimed he "didn't have sex" with Monica!

Lieberman: Voluntary Removal of Outposts, Not Forceful
21:57 Oct 23, '06 / 1 Cheshvan 5767

(IsraelNN.com) Yisrael Beitenu head MK Avigdor Lieberman, who on Monday signed a coalition agreement with the prime minister, told reporters that he will support voluntary evacuation of unauthorized Yesha outposts. Lieberman stated that he opposes a government evacuation by force.

As Lieberman plans to enter the government, he stated, “I do not want to be a partner in a war between the Jews. Therefore, we will not join Likud, where there are constant internal disputes.”

Or maybe he's more like the judge who believed the rapist when he said it was reasonable to understand the victims as having said:

"Don't stop!"

rather than the

"Don't!! Stop!!"

she claimed she had said!

Yisrael Beiteinu Signs Coalition Deal with Olmert
21:15 Oct 23, '06 / 1 Cheshvan 5767
by Hana Levi Julian and Hillel Fendel

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party chairman Avigdor Lieberman signed a deal Monday evening to bring the Russian immigrant party into the coalition government.

The agreement, set for submission to the Knesset Monday night, will be put to a vote on Wednesday. If approved, Lieberman will become a member of the Cabinet as Vice Premier and Minister for Strategic Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office, responsible for strategic planning, working closely with National Security Council officials.

“The big issue now is the Iranian threat,” said Lieberman. “I don’t want to think about what would happen in a year or two if we don’t deal with it now. The U.S. won’t be able to do anything against Iran…. it is us against them,” he said.

Yisrael Beiteinu’s 11 mandates would give the Olmert coalition a Knesset majority of 78 out of 120 seats.

Lieberman (pictured) just last week named five conditions that must be fulfilled before he would enter the government - yet none of them appear to be likely to be fulfilled. The conditions were:

1. An official end to Prime Minister Olmert's "convergence" (unilateral withdrawal) plan must be announced.
2. Jewish outpost neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria must not be uprooted.
3. Legislation must be passed to change the government system to one which grants executive powers to a president.
4. A Supreme Court-appointed public commission of inquiry must be established to investigate the mismanagement of the recent war with Hizbullah. This would replace the current Winograd Commission which was appointed by the same ministers it is meant to investigate.
5. A law permitting civil marriage must be enacted.

No commitments were made by the prime minister with regard to Lieberman’s demands.

Although Olmert announced less than a week after the end of the recent war with Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon that he realized his "convergence" (unilateral withdrawal) plan was irrelevant, he made no commitments to scrap it entirely.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz has continued to move ahead with plans to destroy unauthorized outposts in Judea and Samaria, forcibly expelling Jewish residents from their homes if necessary. Peretz told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week that he had given the Yesha Council leadership two weeks to convince outpost residents to leave their homes voluntarily – after that, the IDF would forcibly remove them. Lieberman told reporters Monday night that he would support voluntary uprooting of outposts but not forced evictions.

There is little support in the Knesset for a bill to change the government structure to include executive powers for the president. Nor is there significant support for a second, related bill proposed by Lieberman which calls for a minimum electoral threshold of 10 percent, below which a political party would not be allowed to gain a Knesset seat.

The issue of establishing a state commission of inquiry into the recent war may have dropped off the radar on the Yisrael Beiteinu screen, but it has not been forgotten by the general Israeli public. More than 2,000 demonstrators held a protest ten days ago in which they repeated public calls for an independent investigative body that would have the authority to dismiss any government official, including the prime minister himself.

As for the demand that civil marriages be allowed in the Jewish State, the Sephardic hareidi religious party Shas, which holds an equal number of Knesset mandates as Yisrael Beiteinu, bluntly said it would oppose any such proposal.

Arutz-7 Interview with Yisrael Beiteinu MK Sofa Landver

Arutz-7 today asked Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset member Sofa Landver why the party had given up on practically all its demands only a few days after declaring them.

Landver: "Our sense of national responsibility leads us to take this position. In the special situation in which our country finds itself - after the war in the north, where the state of affairs is still dangerous, and with the Iranian threats to destroy us - we feel that this is the time to be inside the government and influence. Now is the time to strengthen the country."

A-7: "Do you mean strengthening the country, or the government?"

Landver: "It's been just a half-year since a new government and a new Knesset were elected, and now is not the time to topple the government. The country does not need new elections now."

A-7: "This appears to be a major turnabout for a party that is known to be right-wing - not to want to topple a government coalition that is leftist-based!"

Landver: "No, it's not a major turnabout. We have a responsibility towards the government and towards the country."

A-7: "How is it that your party gave up on nearly all its demands of just a week ago?"

Landver: "We will be judged on whether this is true or not afterwards, not now."

A-7: "Why are you accepting only one ministerial portfolio, when Shas - which has 11 MKs, just like you - has four? How will you be able to have an influence in such a manner?"

Landver: "We don't think that now is the time to add more ministers to the government; this will be too heavy of a burden on the state's resources. We will be able to have an influence in any event."