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Netanyahu Woos Allies on Right For Possible Peace Push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is giving important jobs to the far-right wing of his party's Knesset members, perhaps to soften them up for diplomatic engagement with the Palestinians, Mazal Mualem suggests.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (3rd L) and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon (2nd L) speak during the swearing-in ceremony, at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem March 18, 2013. Netanyahu's new governing coalition took office after a parliamentary vote on Monday with powerful roles reserved for supporters of settlers in occupied territory. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F5XR
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New Likud Knesset member Moshe Feiglin is one of the symbols of the far right in Judea and Samaria. For years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to great lengths to prevent Feiglin from getting into the Knesset. The prime minister viewed Feiglin and his coterie, disparagingly called the “Feigliners,” as aliens trying to take over the Likud.

Netanyahu was concerned that Feiglin’s name on the Likud list would infuse the entire list with an extremist tinge and drive voters away from the party. Thus, the prime minister blocked Feiglin from every direction. But Netanyahu’s powers deserted him in the latest primaries, and Feiglin succeeded in being voted into a viable spot on the party’s Knesset list. The Likud’s dismal showing in the January elections proved that Netanyahu’s fears were justified. Voters fled from Likud in droves, causing it to contract as a result. Feiglin, meanwhile, became a Knesset member.

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