Israels's Governing Coalition at Risk

Tension is rising inside Jerusalem’s corridors of power and some are anticipating the collapse of Israel’s coalition government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. The crisis arises with the Palestinan peace talks grinding to a halt and the announcement that Israel will build 238 more housing units in East Jerusalem—though the areas where they will be erected were not included in the 10-month ban on building in the West Bank. Labor leader Ehud Barak is predicting the coalition will split, and Labor social affairs minister Isaac Herzog has threatened to leave if the peace talks pick up again. But Netanyahu’s coalition faces pressure from the right, too, as those officials oppose extending the moratorium on building in the West Bank. Netanyahu may be readying to reach out to Tzipi Livni, leader of Kadima, the main opposition party.