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March 16, 2015

Netanyahu Trails in Polls on Eve of Israeli Elections; Arab Coalition Poised for Key Role 
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The talks resume on the eve of national elections in Israel, where the
leading opponent of negotiations with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, is in a tight race for re-election. Some polls show
Netanyahu's Likud trailing the Zionist Union coalition, led by Justice
Minister Tzipi Livni and Finance Minister Yair Lapid. The Joint List, a
coalition of four Arab parties, is running in third place and could be
decisive in forming a new coalition that would unseat Netanyahu. In
recent campaign speeches, Netanyahu has suggested he would never
withdraw from the Occupied Territories or allow a Palestinian state
there. His foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, recently made headlines
after calling for the beheading of disloyal Arab-Israeli citizens,
prompting critics to label him the "Jewish ISIS."

 

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