| Last update - 23:23 17/09/2008 Kadima leadership race: What happens next By The Associated Press Israel's ruling Kadima Party held a primary election Wednesday to pick a successor to the party leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
But the winner will not automatically succeed Olmert. Here is a brief look at the process:
Kadima holds primary election. If the winner gets 40 percent or more of the vote, he or she is the new party leader. If not, party holds run-off between two top vote-getters the following week. Exit polls put Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on 47-49 percent and her main rival, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, on 37 percent.
Once party has a leader, Olmert formally submits resignation to President Shimon Peres. The cabinet resigns with him.
After consulting with party leaders, Peres picks a member of the Knesset, most likely the Kadima leader, to form a new coalition government.
The prime minister designate has 42 days to form a new coalition and bring it to the Knesset for approval.
If no new government is formed, a general election is held within 90 days. The process of forming government begins all over again.
Olmert remains in office as caretaker prime minister until a new government is approved by the Knesset.
Related articles:
Day after losing Kadima race, Mofaz announces 'time out from politics'
By Haaretz Service Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday announced he was planning to take a "time out" from politics in order to decide his future path.
At a press conference one day after he lost the Kadima Party leadership race to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Mofaz said he did not intend to seek a position in the new government, should Livni succeed in forming a coalition.
"I will remain a Kadima member and will do everything I can to help [Livni]," Mofaz said.
Livni's camp on Thursday expressed surprise at Mofaz's announcement.
Commenting on Wednesday's primary election results, in which Mofaz came in second by a margin of some 400 votes, Mofaz said, "I am a democrat in my soul, and I know how to accept and respect every outcome. I accept the voters' verdict and I wish Ms. Livni luck."
Mofaz added that the difference was negligible between the number of the votes he and Livni received and that several lawyers advised him to appeal the results.
But, he said, "I decided that the good of the country comes before my personal gain, especially during this time in which the government is being tossed around in stormy waters."
Mofaz thanked his supporters, along with the cabinet ministers and Kadima MKs. "I have no complaints against anyone - not against those who didn't vote for me," said Mofaz. "I have nothing against the ministers and MKs who supported other candidates, not against the system or the general atmosphere, the media, the pollsters - everyone followed his own agenda."
Later Thursday, Mofaz cancelled a meeting with Livni scheduled for Friday in which the newly elected Kadima chair was to ask him to assist her in assembling a coalition and to rethink his decision to retire from politics.
However, in light of Mofaz's announcement, it appears that he is determined to follow through with his decision and will not be joining the government.
Hoewel Mofaz Livni feliciteerde en dus zijn nederlaag toegaf, lijkt hij ook de uitslag aan te willen vechten en te eisen dat enkele kiesdistricten worden gediskwalificeerd of opnieuw geteld. Dit doet sterk denken aan de Amerikaanse verkiezingen van vier jaar geleden, toen de uitslag onzeker bleef omdat de stemmen in enkele staten herteld moesten worden. Ondertussen rust op Livni de zware taak binnen 42 dagen een stabiele en werkbare coalitie samen te stellen. RP ---------- Victorious Livni: I will approach this job with 'great reverence' 18/09/2008 By Haaretz Staff and News Agencies The new chairman of Kadima, Tzipi Livni, gave her long-awaited victory speech early Thursday morning following a dramatic night which saw her projected lead shrink to a mere percentage point in her primary face-off with Shaul Mofaz.
"All the people who came to vote today expressed what they wish to happen in this country," Livni told reporters. "The national responsibility [bestowed] by the public brings me to approach this job with great reverence."
In reference to her primary opponents - Ministers Avi Dichter, Shaul Mofaz, and Meir Sheetrit - the foreign minister said "they were rivals of the moment, but together we have one mission. Together we will create government stability."
"The responsibility is not solely mine, but also on members of Kadima," Livni, who spoke with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier Wednesday evening, said. The new Kadima chairman said she intended to "meet with the members of the Knesset factions in order to form a coalition."
Livni thanked the voters, adding: "I am going forward with your strength that will be with me from here on out."
Despite the landslide victory attributed to Livni in the exit polls by Israel's three major TV stations, Livni beat Mofaz in Wednesday's Kadima primary by a margin of 431 votes, a difference of 1.1 percent. Livni garnered 43.1 percent to Mofaz's 42 percent. Voter turnout in the primary stood at 55 percent.
Livni said she would launch coalition talks on Friday, even though President Shimon Peres cannot officially ask her to try to put together a government until Olmert resigns the premiership.
After she is assigned the task, she will have 42 days to form a new ruling coalition, and if she succeeds, she will become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir stepped down in 1974. If she fails, the country will hold elections in early 2009, a year and a half ahead of schedule.
Mofaz telephoned Livni on Thursday morning, congratulating her on her primary victory, Israel Radio reported.
An attorney for Mofaz is recommending that the candidate appeal the results of Wednesday's party primary, arguing that voting irregularities primarily in the Arab sector could very well make up the difference separating Mofaz and Livni.
The lawyer, Yehuda Weinstein, acknowledged Livni edged out Mofaz by 431 votes, yet he pointed out that the voting station in the Negev town of Rahat offered a pool of 430 votes. "It is impossible to attain power in Israel by a margin of one vote," Weinstein said.
The Rahat votes were nullified after one of the town's residents caused a commotion at the voting station, flinging envelopes in every direction while people were placing slips into the ballot boxes. Because of the tightness of the race, the Mofaz camp is likely to request that the Rahat votes be counted.
"Everyone is armed with complaints in such a tight race, and every complaint will be addressed," said Dan Arbel, the chairman of the election committee. "There are accusations of wrongdoing in the Ashkelon voting station, in Beit Jean, and we will investigate these claims. To this point, we have not found a reason to disqualify any voting station except for Rahat." Arbel noted that all of the results were reported to the elections committee.
Arbel rejected Mofaz's claim that the television exit polls which were released before the final votes were tallied influenced the voters. The party extended the voting an extra 30 minutes past the original 10:00 P.M. closing time. "The alternative would be that [people] would not be able to vote," Arbel said.
Citing evidence it says is proof of illegal activity, the Mofaz campaign is considering a request to disqualify certain voting stations in Arab towns. Earlier, the Mofaz campaign said it would urge a partial vote recount, citing election fraud which is allegedly backed by evidence. Once the final tally results showed a near photo finish, campaign officials huddled with lawyers at Mofaz headquarters for emergency consultations.
"The results are amazingly close to each other," Mofaz associates said.
Mofaz aides also claim that the television exit polls that declared a double-digit victory for Livni some 15 minutes before the polls' closing had a bearing on voters as well as potential voters, thus tilting the final results in Livni's favor.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening phoned Livni and congratulated her on her victory in the party primary after TV exit polls indicated she had won by a landslide.
Olmert wished Livni good luck and told her she would receive his full cooperation in passing on the role of leadership in the event she is capable of establishing a coalition. The two planned to meet later this week.
Having secured more than 40 percent of the vote, Livni will replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as Kadima chairman, negating the need for a second round of voting.
Livni's main rival for the leadership of the ruling party, Shaul Mofaz, the hardline transportation minister and former army chief, was predicted to have won 37 percent of the vote.
The exit polls awarded the two other candidates, Meir Sheetrit and Avi Dichter, 7 percent each.
MK Ronit Tirosh, who has announced her support for Mofaz, asked the chairman of Kadima's election panel, former judge Dan Arbel, to refrain from pronouncing Livni as victor before the indications of fraud have been disproved.
Arbel told Israel Radio that "when the race is so tight, each side has all sorts of claims. We will look into them closely, but so far we haven't found any of them to be based in truth."
Livni will replace Olmert, who is stepping down in light of multiple corruption allegations.
Late Wednesday she thanked her supporters in a phone call to her headquarters.
"You fought like lions...you did an amazing thing, and I just want to do all the things you fought for," she said. "I know you did it as friends, but like me you did it because you want this to be a better place."
The biggest issue at stake was the future of Israel's peace talks with the Palestinians, with Livni seen as far more amenable to a final deal than Mofaz. Livni, 50, is currently Israel's lead negotiator in those talks.
Mofaz was seen as having a better chance at cobbling together a ruling coalition if he had won Wednesday's primary. But pre-vote polls showed Livni to be a far stronger candidate in a general election against Israel's other political star, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the rightist Likud Party.
Kadima extended the voting hours by 30 minutes Wednesday night, apparently to give voters returning from work more time to cast their ballots at crowded polling stations. Analysts predicted a high turnout would favor Livni, who has a wide advantage in opinion polls but who is seen not to have rallied party activists as efficiently as Mofaz.
The fact that only 74,000 party members, in a country of 7 million people, were eligible to vote added to the uncertainty of the outcome. Israeli media reported that an hour before the new closing time of 10:30 P.M. some 45 percent of the eligible Kadima voters had cast their ballots. However, voting often picks up in the evening after working hours in Israeli elections.
Hamas: Both Livni and Mofaz deny Palestinians' rights
Meanwhile on Thursday, Ismail Haniya, the de-facto prime minister of Hamas in Gaza, expressed indifference at the predicted election victory for Tzipi Livni as the new leader of Israel's ruling party, saying both she and her rivals deny "legitimate Palestinian rights."
"All Israeli leaders unite in their hostile positions against our people and in denying their rights, notably Jerusalem and the refugees," Haniya told reporters in Gaza.
"Regardless of who will win in Israel, we won't change our position," he said, adding "the Zionist dream to establish the great Israel has been defeated by the Islamic project, which gained in strength dramatically in the region."
Related articles:
Kadima leadership race: What happens next Shas: If Livni wants a coalition, she must fulfill our demands Kadima primary: Key facts about Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
Vrouwen-emancipatie a la Hamas... ________________________________
| Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) | September 7, 2008 | | | | | | | As part of the Gaza Strip military buildup, women are trained for combat and for suicide bombing attacks. Hamas and the PIJ allowed media coverage of female combatants during the lull in the fighting. Such public messages are designed to deter Israel from entering the Gaza Strip in the future. | | | To see all pictures go to: Overview 1. As part of the military buildup of the Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, which continues on a large scale even when the lull in the fighting is in place, the terrorist organizations provide military training to women, teenagers, and even children.1 During the lull, the terrorist organizations allowed a Lebanese TV correspondent (and, prior to that, the Al-Jazeera TV channel2) to film and interview women terrorists. It is our assessment that by doing so, the terrorist organizations wish to communicate their commitment to the struggle against Israel and deter the IDF from entering the Gaza Strip following the lull. 2. The women interviewed and featured on the media undergo defensive training (in case the IDF enters the Gaza Strip) and offensive training (such as firing rockets and perpetrating suicide bombing attacks). The women train in firing small arms, launching RPG rockets, throwing grenades, ambushes, attacking IDF soldiers, firing rockets, and blowing themselves up near IDF soldiers using explosive belts. 3. In the terrorist organizations' view, using women for combat activities has considerable operational advantages, the main of which is the relative ease they can operate without raising suspicions, both in the Gaza Strip (during IDF operations) and when perpetrating terrorist attacks in Israeli territory. It should be noted that, in the past, the various terrorist organizations (mainly Hamas, the PIJ, and Fatah) used women terrorists to perpetrate suicide bombing attacks in Israeli territory3 and to hit IDF soldiers during activities in the Gaza Strip. For example: a. On November 6, 2006 , during IDF Operation Autumn Clouds, a woman suicide bomber attempted to hit a Giv'ati force south of Beit Hanoun. The force spotted the suicide bomber and motioned her to stop, at which point she blew herself up, lightly injuring an IDF soldier. The PIJ claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. b. On November 23, 2006 , an IDF force spotted a female suicide bomber on the outskirts of the Jebaliya refugee camp. She was carrying an explosive charge and approaching the force. She blew herself up, lightly injuring four IDF soldiers. Hamas claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. The suicide bomber, who had formerly led women's demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, was 57 years old. It was the first time such an old female suicide bomber was dispatched to perpetrate a terrorist attack. 4. Following is a summary of several reports which appeared on the Arab media, dealing with the terrorist organizations' training and use of female suicide bombers in the Gaza Strip during the past year. Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades 5. On August 19, 2008 , the Lebanese TV channel NTV (Al-Jadeed) aired a program about women belonging to Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades training in the Gaza Strip. The program showed women training in firing small arms, throwing grenades, and ambushing and attacking IDF soldiers. The correspondent noted: "Every year, dozens of women in the Gaza Strip undergo military training, including students, mothers, and working women. They know that their part in the conflict is not limited to taking care of the injured and the children. [They know] that what they do may change the balance of power [between the Palestinians and Israel ]." 6. Photographs (see here) taken before the lull in the fighting of women belonging to the Hamas movement on training and operative activity. The photographs appeared on the Internet forum of the popular TV channel Al-Jazeera (January 31, 2008). The Palestinian Islamic Jihad 7. A show aired on Lebanese TV channel NTV ( August 19, 2008 ) featured a female operative of the PIJ's Jerusalem Brigades. Referring to herself as "Ashiqat al-Quds" (i.e., the woman who desires Jerusalem), she presented a ready-to-use explosive belt and expressed her willingness to blow herself up among IDF soldiers in case of an Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip. 8. The operative told the Lebanese television reporter that she had taken part in combat operations before and noted that she was highly motivated to continue her activity. She also said she was engaged, but that she informed her fiancé that she would have to leave if duty called. She further stated: "Even if the Jews come on my wedding day, I will go out and confront them on my wedding day. Nothing will stop me on my way to martyrdom..." Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades 9. The Al-Jazeera forum ( January 31, 2008 ) published photographs of female Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (Fatah's military wing) operatives on training. It was said on the forum that Fatah women have carried out suicide bombing attacks. 4
1 See our Information Bulletin: "Summer camps in the Gaza Strip run by Hamas and other terrorist organizations inculcate youngsters with radical Islamic ideology and the culture of terrorism. Some camps offer military training to prepare future ranks of operatives for the terrorist organizations " ( August 24, 2008 ). 2 However, the terrorist organizations do not publicize the phenomenon of women terrorists on their own Internet websites and other media. 3 See, for instance, our Information Bulletin: "The Israel Security Agency arrested two female residents of the Gaza Strip who, guided by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, intended to perpetrate a double suicide bombing attack at a crowded place in Tel-Aviv and in Netanya" (June 17, 2007). 4 For example, see our Information Bulletin : " A suicide bombing attack planned to be carried out in Israel by a Palestinian female suicide bomber was thwarted at the Erez crossing in the Gaza Strip. The terrorist infrastructure of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip stood behind the terrorist attack, which was probably meant to take place in an Israeli hospital. The incident is yet another link in a long chain of Palestinian terrorist attacks thwarted since the lull in the fighting began" ( June )
Het zou toch mogelijk moeten zijn dat de Palestijnen die via de Rafah grensovergang naar Egypte gaan, fatsoenlijk worden gecontroleerd, zodat Hamas daar geen misbruik van kan maken? Eerdere keren is dat niet gebeurd, dus Israels zorgen zijn begrijpelijk, maar het zou toch moeten kunnen? Een ding is duidelijk: Hamas moet in die controle geen rol spelen. Egypte samen met internationale waarnemers zouden die taak nu op zich kunnen nemen, maar Hamas heeft dergelijke plannen consequent tegengewerkt en eerdere waarnemers naar huis gestuurd.
RP --------
'Opening Rafah will increase Sinai risk'
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Israeli defense officials expressed concern Tuesday that Palestinian terrorists will take advantage of Egypt's decision to open the Rafah border crossing next week to infiltrate into the Sinai Desert where they can join existing cells in targeting Israeli vacationers.
On Monday, Egypt announced plans to open the crossing for a limited time to enable Gazans to travel to Mecca to partake in the Umrah, known as the Lesser Pilgrimage. Egypt last opened its border with Gaza in late August to enable hundreds of ill Palestinians and students to leave the Strip.
The concern in Israel is that Palestinian terrorists will take advantage of the opening of the crossing to leave the Gaza Strip and join cells that are plotting attacks against Israelis vacationing in the Sinai.
"Whenever the crossing is opened, terrorists cross back and forth," a top defense official said.
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau this week sharpened an existing travel advisory on the Sinai, revealing that Palestinian terrorists were cooperating with Hizbullah in an effort to kidnap Israelis and transport them to the Gaza Strip. The Bureau urged Israelis not to travel to the Sinai in the coming weeks, and to immediately return to Israel if they are already there.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged Israelis on Tuesday to refrain from visiting Egypt.
"The State of Israel is located in a tough neighborhood, and we are surrounded by attempts to strike at us," he said on the sidelines of a military exercise in the south. "It is difficult to receive a travel advisory that asks you not to travel to Sinai and to leave but behind it is a real threat."
Het lijkt moeilijk voor een krant om gewoon eens iets positiefs over een Israëlische politicus te schrijven. Ja, ze komt uit een rechts nest en haar vader zat bij de Irgoen voor de stichting van Israël. Deze ondergrondse verzetsbeweging was klein en werden slechts door een minderheid van de Joden in Palestina gesteund, ondanks het feit dat de Arabieren al vanaf de jaren '20 Joodse burgers aanvielen en de Britten daar vaak niet effectief tegen optraden. De Israëlische politiek bestaat wel uit meer dan ex-generaals, al is ervaring in het leger om begrijpelijke redenen wel een pré. RP ----------- Mrs. Clean versus Mr. Mannetjesputter Trouw - De Verdieping, 16 september 2008 Door Inez Polak Tzipi Livni is niet de nieuwe Golda Meir. Toch heeft zij kans om de nieuwe premier van Israël te worden. Haar grootste verdienste is haar integriteit, maar of ze het politiek gaat redden in de wereld van de ex-generaals is de vraag. Het is hartje zomer. Op de begraafplaats van de Herzlberg in Jeruzalem staat een groepje mensen bijeen. Oud-strijders van de militante ondergrondse Etzel-beweging die zestig jaar geleden met geweld en brute aanslagen hadden gevochten tegen de Britse overheerser en de Palestijnse bewoners. Ze zijn gekomen om hun commandant te herdenken. Aan het eind van de ceremonie zetten ze hun strijdlied in, Tagar, een oproep bloed en ziel te offeren voor de verovering van het land, ál het land aan weerszijden van de Jordaan. Een jongere vrouw valt op te midden van de bejaarde mannen en vrouwen: Tzipi Livni, de dochter van een van de voormannen van de ondergrondse, zingt uit volle borst mee. Het zou niet opmerkelijk zijn, ware het niet dat Tzipi Livni ook Israëls minister van buitenlandse zaken is en hoofdonderhandelaar met de Palestijnen, waarin ze bespreekt hoe ze het land gaan verdelen. Livni is misschien zelfs binnenkort premier van Israël. In de aanloop naar de verkiezingen van 17 september, voor de opvolging van premier Ehoed Olmert als partijleider van de Kadimapartij, is zij de grote kanshebber. Israël heeft al eens een vrouwelijke premier gehad, al zijn vrouwen in topposities er nog altijd een uitzondering. Golda Meir werd dan ook chauvinistisch 'de enige man in het kabinet' genoemd. Een tweede Golda Meir, zoals Livni wel in de buitenlandse pers wordt betiteld, is ze niet. Daarvoor mist de voormalig Mossadagente en juriste het natuurlijke charisma. Ze straalt vooral zakelijkheid uit en geniet enorme populariteit vanwege één kenmerk dat in de Israëlische politiek schaars is: integriteit. Mrs. Clean betitelde een commentator haar, haast schamper. Maar anderzijds, zo stelt een columniste, getuigt haar populariteit er juist van dat de Israëliërs hebben afgerekend met het dogma dat alleen een man, liefst ex-generaal, geschikt is voor het premierschap. De Israëlische media hebben moeite met Tzipi Livni. Niet alleen omdat de vijftigjarige moeder van twee kinderen in wezen mediaschuw is. In tegenstelling tot de meesten van haar collega-politici weigert ze 'mee te spelen' door in populaire talkshows over ditjes en datjes te keuvelen of aan tv-spelletjes mee te doen. Als ze al op het scherm verschijnt, is ze niet van de one-liners. Ze legt uit en weidt uit, met alle nuances, in complexe zinnen. In een van de weinige diepte-interviews, verleden jaar met de New York Times, belde ze de volgende dag met de interviewer. Benauwd dat er een verkeerd beeld was ontstaan van haar, de ideologisch gedreven strakke politica, wilde ze toch nog iets kwijt: „Ik heb ook andere kanten. Ik draag liever jeans dan een mantelpakje, en prefereer sneakers boven hoge hakken. In het algemeen houd ik niet van formaliteiten. Weet je, toen ik jong was heb ik ook als serveerster in de Sinai-woestijn gewerkt." Het was haar poging een lossere, menselijker Tzipi te schetsen. In haar politieke carrière heeft ze zich nooit laten verleiden tot het bijstellen van haar mening om haar loopbaan te bevorderen. Een van haar redenen om twee jaar geleden samen met Ariel Sjaron de Likoed te verlaten en Kadima op te richten was de corruptie binnen de Likoed. Maar ook politiek was ze naar het midden opgeschoven, was ze rijp om te breken met de rechtse ideologie die ze als kind met de paplepel ingegoten had gekregen. Het was een verstandelijk proces geweest: Israël kan geen Joodse en democratische staat zijn als het tegelijkertijd vasthoudt aan het idee van een Groot-Israël waarin het over miljoenen Palestijnen heerst. Een compromis, een delen van het land, met een Palestijnse naast een Joodse staat, was de enige manier om die Joodse-democratische staat te waarborgen. Ondanks haar breuk met die Groot-Israëlgedachte, hecht ze nog altijd aan veel van haar 'oude' waarden, gelooft ze heilig in een Joodse staat, is ze fel gekant tegen enig recht op terugkeer van de Palestijnen naar Israël, wil ze zeker de grote nederzettingenblokken behouden, en zingt ze nog altijd met overgave dan wel heimwee het lied van de rechtse oud-strijders mee. Toen een verslaggever haar onlangs vroeg wat het betekende dat haar echtgenoot zou hebben gezegd dat ze nog rechtser was dan (Likoedleider) Netanjahoe, antwoordde ze: „Mijn echtgenoot kan dat niet hebben gezegd, want mijn echtgenoot geeft geen interviews. Die hele links-rechts scheiding is passé. Een ieder die probeert zich te onderscheiden door over veiligheidskwesties te praten en zich dan rechts voordoet, begrijpt niet dat dit vandaag de dag niet de ideologie van rechts is, net zo goed als vrede niet de ideologie van links is.'' Haar voornaamste zorg toen ze de onderhandelingen met de Palestijnen begon was: hoe vertel ik het mijn moeder. Want als ze thuis iets heeft meegekregen waren dat die rechtse idealen van een Groot-Israël. Vaak 'mocht' ze op zaterdag met haar ouders mee op bezoek bij de leider van de beweging, Menachem Begin. Toen haar klasgenootjes naar de socialistische jeugdbeweging of de padvinderij gingen, trok Livni haar bruine bloesje aan, het uniform van de nationalistische Betarbeweging. En zij, naar eigen zeggen een tomboy die van jongensspelletjes hield, zou ook menigmaal zo vlak voor de eerste mei 's nachts rode vlaggen van de daken hebben gehaald. Op de Dag van de Arbeid op de eerste mei, liepen haar schoolmaatjes mee in de parade met rode vlaggen. Tzipi liep met de Israëlische vlag. Na school diende ze in het leger, klom op tot luitenant, studeerde rechten en werd door een vriendin overgehaald zich te melden voor een vacature bij de Mossad, Israëls geheime dienst. Volgens verschillende bronnen was ze daar betrokken bij het moordcommando dat in Europa jacht maakte op Palestijnen die verantwoordelijk waren voor de moord op de Israëlische sporters bij de Olympische spelen in München. Haar besluit de politiek in te gaan dateert van midden jaren negentig. Premier Rabin had zojuist de hand geschud van Jasser Arafat. Israël was diep verdeeld over zijn erkenning van een – toekomstige – Palestijnse staat en voornemen geleidelijk uit de Westoever terug te trekken. Ook Livni ging dat – toen – te ver. Haar eerste gooi, in 1996, naar een verkiesbare plaats op de rechtse Likoedlijst mislukte. Maar haar komaf hielp haar. De kinderen van de oud-strijders (Begin, Livni, ook Olmert) stonden te boek als de 'prinsen' van de partij, ze hadden een streepje voor. Premier Netanjahoe benoemde haar tot hoofd van een staatsorganisatie die tot taak had staatsbedrijven te privatiseren. Drie jaar later zat ze alsnog in de Knesset, en volgde een carrière als minister op verschillende ministeries. Toen haar mentor Sjaron, die ze naar de meer op het centrum gerichte Kadimapartij was gevolgd, begin 2006 plots door een beroerte werd geveld, gold ze als mogelijke opvolgster. Maar vrijwel onmiddellijk deed ze een stapje opzij om de weg vrij te maken voor een gretige Ehoed Olmert. „Tzipi mist het killers instinct om premier van Israël te worden", klonk het onmiddellijk. Het klinkt nu nog. Livni mag dan van Venus zijn, haar rivaal in de strijd om het partijleiderschap (en dus mogelijk het premierschap) is zeker van Mars: Sjaoel Mofaz, de minister van vervoer, is een oud-opperbevelhebber en oud-minister van defensie. In een van Israëls satirische programma's heeft hij de bijnaam 'kerel-kerel', een mannetjesputter, een houwdegen die altijd wel een militaire oplossing aandraagt. Zijn militaire loopbaan is zijn wapen in de huidige verkiezingsstrijd: Livni zou geen ervaring hebben op het gebied van de veiligheid. Geleend van de Amerikaanse verkiezingen, krijgt ook Livni de vraag naar haar hoofd geslingerd 'wie het beste de telefoon om drie uur 's nachts kan beantwoorden'. Voor Mofaz is het duidelijk dat hij die man is. Politiek staat Mofaz rechts van Livni: vóór een aanval op Iran, zijn geboorteland waar hij tot zijn negende opgroeide, tégen terugtrekking en tégen 'haar' onderhandelingen met de Palestijnen. Hoewel de peilingen aangeven dat Livni duidelijk voor ligt op Mofaz, durft niemand uit te sluiten dat hij kan verrassen. Hij beschikt binnen de amorfe Kadima-partij over een goed georganiseerd kader en het verleden heeft al uitgewezen dat bij partijverkiezingen opkomst en organisatie de doorslag kunnen geven. Mofaz is al tijden bezig zijn mensen te organiseren. Livni is daar veel later aan begonnen, wikkend en wegend - met zich zelf en haar naaste adviseur, haar man - of ze wel zo graag wil. Volgens haar vrienden is ze veranderd, heeft ze de knoop doorgehakt en heeft ze nu echt de ambitie om premier te worden. Haar onderhandelingen met de gematigde Palestijnse leider Abbas hebben haar overtuigd dat stagnatie niet in het voordeel van Israël werkt, dat er haast geboden is, om de Joodse staat veilig te stellen. Livni: „Alleen daarom wil ik de baan."
Israël heeft een nieuwe premier. Het is de vraag of zij een enigzins stabiele coalitie zal kunnen samenstellen, anders worden waarschijnlijk nieuwe verkiezingen gehouden, waarin zij het op zal moeten nemen tegen Barak en Netanjahoe, die beiden al eens premier waren. RP ---------- Livni sweeps Kadima race; Olmert pledges cooperation By Haaretz Staff and News Agencies Last update 01:29 18/09/2008
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday phoned Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and congratulated her on her victory in the party (Kadima) primary as the new party head after TV exit polls indicated her victory.
Olmert wished Livni good luck and told her she would receive his full cooperation in passing on the role of leadership in the event she is capable of establishing a coalition. The two planned to meet later this week.
Exit polls by Israel's three major TV stations put Livni on 47-49 percent of the vote in the election for the new Kadima leader, negating a second round of voting to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and making her the next likely premier.
Livni's main rival for the leadership of the ruling party, Shaul Mofaz, the hardline transportation minister and former army chief, was predicted to have won 37 percent of the vote. The exit polls awarded the two other candidates, Meir Sheetrit and Avi Dichter, 7 percent each. The winner, should he or she achieve a minimum of 40 percent in the final results, will replace Olmert, who is stepping down in light of multiple corruption allegations. Livni was expected to address party activists Thursday, after the vote counting was completed. Late Wednesday she thanked her supporters in a phone call to her headquarters. "You fought like lions...you did an amazing thing, and I just want to do all the things you fought for," she said. "I know you did it as friends, but like me you did it because you want this to be a better place." The biggest issue at stake was the future of Israel's peace talks with the Palestinians, with Livni seen as far more amenable to a final deal than Mofaz. Livni, 50, is currently Israel's lead negotiator in those talks. Either candidate would make history by becoming prime minister. Livni would be the first female premier since Golda Meir. Mofaz, who was born in Iran, would be the first Israeli of Middle Eastern, or Sephardic, descent to lead the country. Mofaz was seen as having a better chance at cobbling together a ruling coalition if he had won Wednesday's primary. But pre-vote polls showed Livni to be a far stronger candidate in a general election against Israel's other political star, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the rightist Likud Party. Kadima extended the voting hours by 30 minutes Wednesday night, apparently to give voters returning from work more time to cast their ballots at crowded polling stations. Analysts predicted a high turnout would favor Livni, who has a wide advantage in opinion polls but who is seen not to have rallied party activists as efficiently as Mofaz. The fact that only 74,000 party members, in a country of 7 million people, were eligible to vote added to the uncertainty of the outcome. Israeli media reported that an hour before the new closing time of 10:30 P.M. some 45 percent of the eligible Kadima voters had cast their ballots. However, voting often picks up in the evening after working hours in Israeli elections. Mofaz, a former chief of staff and defense minister, has insisted that opinion polls showing him trailing Livni are inaccurate.
| 
