Across the World: Israel
China Daily | Updated: 2009-02-28 08:15
Coalition talks fail
Benjamin Netanyahu failed to persuade his centrist rival, Tzipi Livni, to join him in a broad coalition on Friday, increasing the likelihood that Israel's next government will be an alliance of hawks and hard-line religious parties opposed to substantial concessions for peace.
However, Livni did not shut the door on any possibility of an agreement, and Netanyahu still has five weeks to cobble together a government.
Livni, who heads the centrist Kadima Party and served as chief negotiator with the Palestinians, supports the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Netanyahu does not, and the two have been unable to bridge the gap.
(China Daily 02/28/2009 page11)
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