Speaking on motzei Shabbos ahead of week two of coalition talks in Kfar Maccabiah, Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman announced Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid will not receive the Foreign Ministry portfolio.

Lieberman announced that he and the prime minister agreed on the matter before the elections, that Mr. Netanyahu would serve as acting foreign minister pending the outcome of his fraud trial. If acquitted as he expects will be the case, Lieberman will return to the post. If he is convicted and unable to return, another Yisrael Beitenu member will receive the post, possibly Dr. Uzi Landau, who has been serving in Knesset since 1988, a fluent English speaker, a former IDF major and holds a doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Whatever the case, Lieberman wants Lapid to realize that this post is not an option for him as he weighs options towards entering the coalition. Lieberman adds that during the election campaign Lapid spoke a great deal of his concern for the middle class the high court of housing, recommending that he set his sights on a portfolio that “addresses issues here at home”.

In another coalition matter, Bayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett will meet with the prime minister for a first time this week.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)