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Israel Forms New Coalition Government

(VOA News) Robert Berger - Israeli political parties have reached a coalition agreement, clearing the way for a new government and some top-level international diplomacy as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to visit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won national elections in January. Netanyahu says Iran will top the agenda when President Obama visits Israel next week. Israeli analyst Gerald Steinberg believes the prime minister will tell President Obama that if international diplomacy and sanctions fail, Israel is prepared to take military action against Iran on its own. "As we get closer to the summer, and if we see progress towards an Iranian nuclear weapon, Netanyahu's going to say, 'If the Americans don't act, if there's no international military action, we're going to have to act unilaterally,' and he will get broad support from the Israeli public and most of the Israeli political system, including within his own coalition." Domestic issues and Iran have pushed the Palestinian issue to the back burner. "We're certainly going to go see some sort of negotiating effort because Obama is going to push for it; it's something that for PR reasons the Israelis have to show that they're interested," Steinberg said. "So we'll see some movement in that direction, but probably not much substance."
2013-03-15 00:00:00
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