US President Barack Obama reportedly may urge Israeli political leaders to form a national unity government, according to British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph".
The paper cited a source saying that if Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is asked to form a government, and Kadima balks at joining, the US government may be asked to press Kadima to join a Netanyahu-led government.
The paper said, "Bibi will not want a hard Right government," said the source, who is well acquainted with both US and Israeli politics. "He might try to enlist the Americans to lean on Kadima to join his government."
According to the report, "Sources in Washington who have discussed the situation with members of Mr. Obama's team now believe that the new president is prepared to play a role behind the scenes to ensure that an alliance can emerge. "His team is prepared to take the plunge privately if it is never made public," said a well-placed source in Washington."
In Israel's national elections held on February 10, Kadima, led by Tzipi Livni, won the largest number of Knesset seats, with 28, but a combination of religious parties and a right wing block, led by Likud with 27 seats, won more seats than the left wing and Arab parties. The result is that some form of compromise between the two largest parties may be the eventual outcome.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2009
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