Israel's new coalition will bury possibility of 2-state solution

Palestinian officials have warned that the newly formed, and potentially unstable, government in Israel would “bury” the possibility of a two-state solution between the two sides, read a report by the Independent newspaper.

“Congratulations Israel. Your new government has ensured that peace is not on their agenda,” said PLO’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

He accused Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, of “leading the charge to bury the two-state solution”.

Netanyahu has set in motion a right-wing coalition, with the slimmest possible majority – 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset – just before a deadline of late on Wednesday night.

If he had faltered, President Reuven Rivlin would have offered the chance of forming a government to another party, the report said.

The peace process has been frozen since the US-led negotiations between Israeli and the Palestinians broke down in April 2014.

The new coalition appears to leave the international community with little hope that talks will resume in the near future, the newspaper said.

The US President, Barack Obama, who has appeared increasingly at odds with Netanyahu in recent months, congratulated the Israeli Prime Minister for securing a fourth term of office and said he “looked forward to working with him” and the new government, the report added.

Obama said subjects open for consultation would include “the importance of pursuing a two-state solution”.