Israel PM Olmert nears wider coalition deal

Jerusalem, Oct 23: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert edged closer today to a deal to widen his government by adding a rightist party, media reports said.

Olmert's bid for a larger coalition follows a series of opinion polls showing a significant decline in his government's popularity amid public criticism of the army's failure to crush Hezbollah guerrillas in a recent war in Lebanon.

Avigdor Lieberman, a Russian immigrant with a tough stance on Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, has said he would renew talks with Olmert he had broken off last week.

Lieberman told Israeli radio and television stations after talks with party leaders on Sunday, ''a clear decision was made'' to negotiate with Olmert and he expected results within days.

Israel and Army Radios and the Haaretz daily newspaper said Olmert could reach an agreement with Lieberman as soon as today when the two were expected to meet.

The radio said Lieberman was expected to be named minister in charge of handling a crisis over Iran's development of a nuclear potential Israel fears could be used to make a bomb. Iran says its atomic work is for energy purposes only.

Olmert's spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.

With the addition of Lieberman's Yisrael Beteinu, Olmert would control 78 seats in Israel's 120-member parliament, up from just 67 that currently support him.

Lieberman's agreement to join ranks with Olmert follows the government's approval yesterday of his bill to change Israel's electoral system by resuming a practice dropped a few years ago of choosing a prime minister separately from legislators.

The left-leaning Labour party, with a critical 19 seats, was divided over Lieberman's addition to the government and some lawmakers have vowed to fight it.

But some said Labour would eventually assent to Lieberman joining the government rather than drop out of the coalition, a move that could hurt its popularity further.

''We will be forced to accept Avigdor Lieberman,'' Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog of Labour told Israel Radio.

Reuters