'Dismantling Migron would dismantle coalition'
Yisrael Beiteinu Chair Avigdor Lieberman warns his faction would pull out of coalition if illegal West Bank outposts demolished
Threat or promise? Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman on Monday issued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an ultimatum, warning that if the government demolishes the West Bank outposts of Migron and Givat Asaf, his party would pull out of the coalition.
"Dismantling Migron and Givat Asaf would be grounds for dismantling the government," the foreign minister said during a faction meeting. "We wouldn't be able to stay in the government, and some members of the Likud party also won't be able to live with it. Some 30% of the residents of these two outposts are standing army personnel," he noted.
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The High Court of Justice ruled that the outposts of Amuna, Givat Asaf and Migron must be demolished by the end of March 2012, but the State recently asked the court to extend the deadline by six months, in order to allow the government enough time to properly resettle the residents.
"Migron is a community where children were born and later joined the army," Lieberman emphasized, "So how can it be considered illegal?"
Lieberman also commented on the freezing of fund transfer to the Palestinian Authority, saying that Yisrael Beiteinu will not agree to transfer the funds following recent reports on renewed reconciliation efforts between Hamas and Fatah.
"We will never allow to transfer them money. They are joining forces with Hamas, giving up on (Palestinian Prime Minister) Salam Fayyad, building houses for released terrorists – and all this money is coming from the funds we give them. That's crossing the red line as far as we are concerned," he said.
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