Israeli PM under Fire after Proposing Hawkish Lieberman to Head Defense

"I informed the PM that after his conduct and recent developments, and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the govement and parliament and taking a break from political life," Yaalon said.

Yaalon, a career military and former Chief of Staff of Israeli forces, joined Netanyahu’s Likud party in 2008.

Lieberman served as Israeli foreign minister from 2009 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2015. He currently chairs a right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party and is known for his controversial proposals.

For example,  Lieberman wants to “cut off heads” of Arab-Israelis not “loyal” to Israel, bomb Egypt’s Aswan dam, and offer Israeli towns with large Arab populations to the future Palestinian state in exchange for Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which would then become part of the Jewish state.

Speculation on his new role in Netanyahu’s cabinet arose after consultations between Lieberman and the Israeli prime minister on Wednesday. Netanyahu, who is the leader of the center-right Likud party, is eying to cement his current coalition’s shaky position, as it holds a majority of one in the Israeli parliament.

The possible appointment, which is expected to be decided by the weekend, has prompted a storm of criticism from the Israeli opposition and Palestinian politicians, who anticipate an even more hostile military policy under Lieberman, who himself lives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Russia Today reports.

Isaac Herzog, the leader of the center-left Zionist Union, which had been expected to enter into coalition with Likud before Netanyahu’s sudden U-tu in favor of Lieberman, said that if the Israeli hawk joins the govement, it will result in a policy “on a brink of madness.” He believes that choosing such a radical figure as head of the defense ministry would mean that Israel is preparing to “embark on a jouey of war and funerals.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement slamming the upcoming govement reshuffle as “fresh proof there is no real peace partner in Israel,” while calling Lieberman “an extremist”

With his appointment, Israel would send a “message to the world that Israel prefers extremism, the occupation and settlements to a peace accord,” the statement reads.

The Israeli military establishment also appears to be less than enthusiastic about the prospect of having a defense chief with fewer qualifications than outgoing defense minister, who has vast combat experience.