Netanyahu, Kahlon hold marathon coalition talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his finance minister-designate, Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon, met for three hours on Sunday in an effort to work out their differences and enable the formation of a new government.

In a meeting billed as having a “good atmosphere,” the two men talked about how to implement Kahlon’s plans to lower the cost of living, fight monopolies, and solve the housing shortage.

Kahlon complained about large financial promises Netanyahu made to other parties.

“Burdening the finance minister with commitments in billions is very problematic,” a source close to Kahlon said.

Kahlon has asked to control all government bodies involved in approving construction, including the Finance, Construction and Environment ministries, as well as the Interior Ministry’s Building Planning Committee.

Netanyahu and Kahlon discussed how to keep the Building Planning Committee in the Interior Ministry, which is to go to Shas chairman Arye Deri, while ensuring that Kahlon’s reforms could be implemented.

Alternatively, the possibility has been raised that the Planning Committee would shift to the Finance Ministry but under Deri’s No. 2 in Shas, Yitzhak Cohen, who would be a deputy finance minister.

Coalition talks took place on Sunday with United Torah Judaism and will be held on Monday with Bayit Yehudi and Shas.

Deri told reporters at a Mimouna celebration at his Jerusalem home on Saturday night that he is prepared to reach an agreement with the Likud.

Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett was upset by reports that Netanyahu intended to appoint Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman as foreign minister, even though the latter party received two fewer Knesset seats than Bayit Yehudi in the March 17 election.

Sources close to Liberman mocked Netanyahu’s decision, saying that he might as well keep all the portfolios for the Likud.

Liberman said on Sunday morning that if Netanyahu forms a national unity government with the Zionist Union, his party would not join the coalition.

Ahead of the election, there were reports that Liberman was turning leftward and would try to prevent Netanyahu’s reelection.

Zionist Union chairman Isaac Herzog said repeatedly during the campaign that he saw Yisrael Beytenu as an integral part of the government he intended to form.

But later in the campaign, Liberman shifted rightward, and that continued on Sunday.