Netanyahu says can work with Obama for peace

Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:18pm EST

(Adds Livni comments, details, paragraphs 4, 12-13, 16)

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Israel's hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday to cooperate with the Obama administration on Middle East peace.

Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, was chosen on Friday by President Shimon Peres to try to form a governing coalition and become prime minister for the second time.

He planned to meet Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni later in an attempt to enlist her centrist Kadima party, which favours trading large parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank for peace, into a "national unity" government.

Livni did not rule out negotiating a unity government with Netanyahu but told party loyalists that joining hands with 65 rightists elected to parliament who back Netanyahu risked "betraying the confidence of voters".

A narrow Israeli government comprised of hawkish parties who won a parliamentary majority in a Feb. 10 election could put Netanyahu on a collision course with U.S. President Barack Obama and his promise to move quickly to a Palestinian statehood deal.

"I intend and expect to cooperate with the Obama administration and to try to advance the common goals of peace, security and prosperity for us and our neighbours," the U.S.-educated Netanyahu told reporters.

Netanyahu, 59, has said he wants to shift the focus of stalled, U.S.-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians away from tough territorial issues to shoring up their economy, an approach their leaders have rejected.

As prime minister from 1996 to 1999, he clashed with the Clinton administration but bowed to U.S. pressure and handed over parts of the West Bank city of Hebron to Palestinian rule.

While not ruling out a Palestinian state, he has said it must have limited powers ensuring it is demilitarised.

Along with rival Kadima, Netanyahu advocates expanding existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, in defiance of the United States, which brought little pressure on Israel over the issue during George W. Bush's presidency.



UNITY

Turning to coalition negotiations, Netanyahu said: "I think unity is reachable, through dialogue ... that is what we are going to do today, beginning with Kadima and tomorrow with Labour."

Livni, 50, told party loyalists she objected to joining a cabinet "whose path isn't ours." Kadima's lawmakers met to consider Netanyahu's offer shortly before the two leaders were scheduled to meet.

Kadima won 28 seats to 27 for Likud in the election for Israel's 120-member parliament. Peres did not follow tradition and ask the leader of the party with the most legislators to form a government within 42 days.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak's Labour Party came in fourth, behind Yisrael Beiteinu, a far-right party.

Labour has pledged to oppose Netanyahu in parliament. But Netanyahu may seek to include Barak in his coalition and had plans to meet him on Monday. (Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Robert Woodward) (For blogs and links on Israeli politics and other Israeli and Palestinian news, go to blogs.reuters.com/axismundi)



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