Speaking with Israel’s Radio’s Arab affairs correspondent, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Sunday 2 Nissan reiterated Israel’s position, that no deal is better than a bad deal when it comes to Iran. The senior minister’s message is clearly directed at the White House, coming at a time when relations between Israeli and the United States are extremely strained following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s firm victory and reelection in national elections.
While the White House is clearly not pleased with Mr. Netanyahu’s reelection, the defense minister told Israel Radio that Iran continues to threaten Israel and pose a real threat. Ya’alon added Iran also backs and funds Hizbullah and other terrorism directed against Israel.
Ya’alon’s statements come as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced US “bullying” in the negotiations. Once again US Secretary of State John Kerry’s negotiating efforts are for naught as Tehran rejects America’s overtures.
While foreign minister continue to signal progress, Iranian officials deny the accuracy of these reports stating no progress has been made.
Khamenei added that lifting of sanctions must be part of the agreement and not a consequence of any agreement, rejecting Kerry’s latest efforts.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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Senior members of the Zionist Union claim that party leader Yitzchak Herzog offered Kulanu chief Moshe Kachlon, who holds the key to forming any coalition a deal, a deal he can’t refuse, according to a Maariv report.
They claim that besides offering Kachlon a senior ministerial positions in the government, like Netanyahu did, Herzog upped the ante and also offered to share the Prime Minister’s seat with Kachlon, in a rotation agreement.
The party members didn’t say if they would be ruling on alternate days, or would it be one week on and one week off, and how exactly it would all that fit into Tzipi Livni’s rotation schedule with Herzog (depending on the hour, if that rotation deal is on or off), and would this just turn into some sort of convoluted 3-way relationship.
Herzog is making offers to all the parties that might sit in Netanyahu’s coalition that he thinks could be bought off, in hope of becoming a partial prime minister.
One does wonder how many Prime Ministers Herzog envisions sitting in that chair at the same time.
His rotation schedule could look like this:
Sunday: Herzog (Labor)
Monday: Kachlon (Kulanu)
Tuesday: Gal-on (Meretz)
Wednesday: Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu)
Thursday: Odeh (Arab List)
Friday: Livni (HaTnua)
Saturday: Lapid (Yesh Atid)
Power corrupts what else is new