Netanyahu's main coalition partner wants early elections

JERUSALEM – Israel is close to early elections on Friday after the main coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party, said he wants a vote "as soon as possible" and will plead for Sunday consultations.

The call for early elections came after a meeting on Friday between Netanyahu and the Minister of Education and leader of the Jewish home Naftali Bennett. The two men were locked in a tense rivalry, with Bennett often criticizing Netanyahu from the right.

Bennett had asked for the post of Defense Minister after outgoing President Avigdor Lieberman resigned earlier this week to protest Netanyahu's policy in Gaza.

A senior Jewish house official said that it became apparent after the Bennett-Netanyahu meeting that it was "necessary to go to the elections as soon as possible". He requested anonymity because he was discussing the contents of an in camera meeting.

The official said coalition party leaders would meet on Sunday to coordinate the early election date.

The apparent failure of the Netanyahu-Bennett meeting seemed to seal the fate of the coalition.

The departure of Lieberman and his party Israel Beitenu had left the coalition with a majority of one seat out of 120 members of Parliament. Without Bennett's Jewish home, Netanyahu's coalition would lose its parliamentary majority.

The political crisis began with an Israeli underground clandestine raid in Gaza on Sunday. The raid led to two days of intense cross-border fighting. Hamas leaders in Gaza fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, while Israeli warplanes targeted dozens of targets in Gaza.

After two days, Egypt negotiated an informal truce between Israel and Islamist militant Hamas. Netanyahu avoided the war, but drew strong criticism from the ultra-nationalists.

Lieberman resigned Wednesday in protest.

On Friday, he visited southern Israel and accused Netanyahu of being lax in the face of terrorism. He said that Netanyahu's Gaza policy strengthened Hamas.

Lieberman said the truce would pose a growing threat to southern Israel emanating from Hamas, just like the threat posed in northern Israel by Hezbollah's heavily armed militia in Lebanon.

"It is impossible that after Hamas launched 500 rockets at Israeli border communities. Hamas leaders are now getting immunity from the Israeli government, "he told reporters.

"We are now feeding a monster" that will only grow if it is not stopped, he said. "In a year, we will have a twin brother of Hezbollah, with all the implications".

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