Hawkish Netanyahu asked to form new government

Hawkish Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was tasked yesterday with forming a new Israeli government, fuelling concerns that a right-wing coalition could torpedo the Middle East peace process.

Accepting the nomination from President Shimon Peres, the former premier named Iran as the main threat to Israel's existence and made no direct reference to peace talks with the Palestinians.

Mr Netanyahu is pushing for a broad coalition, evidently keen to avert a repeat of the situation in 1999, when his government collapsed following the defection of far-right parties that accused him of making concessions to Palestinians.

Mrs Livni, the outgoing foreign minister emerged from talks with Mr Peres saying she would have nothing to do with a right-wing coalition.

"I will not be a pawn in a government that would be against our ideals," she said. Israel needs "a government based on a two-state solution" for Palestinians and Israel, she added.

But Mr Netanyahu did not give up on his hopes.

"I turn to the Kadima and Labour leaders: let us close ranks and act together," he said at the ceremony at the president's residence in Jerusalem.

"I want to meet you first and discuss the formation of a broad government coalition," said Netanyahu, who invited Mrs Livni for talks on Sunday.

In his brief speech, he did not directly mention Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and made no mention of the US-backed two-state solution, focusing instead on what he said was the threat from Iran.

"Iran is seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon and constitutes the gravest threat to our existence since the war of independence," he said.

"The responsibility we face is to achieve security for our country, peace with our neighbours and unity among us."

Reacting to the nomination, the Palestinian Authority said it will not deal with the new Israeli government if it is not committed to the peace process.

"We will not deal with the Israeli government unless it accepts a two-state solution and accepts to halt settlements and to respect past accords," president Mahmud Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said.

Mr Netanyahu believes the time is not ripe to discuss the key issues raised in the peace negotiations, including the borders of a proposed Palestinian state, and wants the talks to focus on improving daily life in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.