Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday evening that his Yisrael Beiteinu party had authorized him to begin negotiations to enter the government coalition, and expected final decisions to be made within the week.

"A clear decision has been made for us to begin negotiations, and I hope these negotiations will be quick and decisive, so that we can finish either here or there within a few days," Lieberman said after meeting with his faction.

Yisrael Beiteinu decided to begin coalition negotiations after the cabinet decided in a vote of 12-11 to back Lieberman's proposal to change the system of governance in Israel from a parliamentary to presidential system. Lieberman had been expected to forgo coalition negotiations if ministers were to reject his proposal.

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Political sources said Sunday that the cabinet decision had essentially paved the way for Yisrael Beiteinu to join the government, and for Lieberman's appointment to Strategic Affairs Minister. One minister said, "I have no doubt that if it weren't for Olmert's will to expand the base of the coalition, there's no chance the government would have supported Lieberman's proposal."

The prime minister also seems interested in speeding up negotiations, and has plans to meet with Lieberman this week. A spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office said, "We have arrived at the finishing line, and everything will be decided very soon. It's possible it will even be finished this week. The prime minister has made the decision to expand the coalition and that's what he's doing."

Israeli Arab leader calls Yisrael Beiteinu 'fascist party'
Chairman of the Israeli Arab High Committee, Shuweiki Hatib, on Sunday dubbed Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu a "fascist party" and called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to quit from the coalition talks with Lieberman.

Speaking at a press conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kafr Qassem massacre, Hatib said "the existence of political figures calling for transfer [of Arabs from Israel], must light a red light for Israeli society."

The anniversary marks a massacre that took place on the first day of the Sinai War, October 29, 1956. Three Border Policemen who were ordered to shoot dead any person who violated the curfew on the village of Kafr Qassem, killed 47 of the village residents who returned by foot from work, unaware of the curfew that had been placed.

Hatib tried to link the intention to join Lieberman to the coalition with the incident. He said that the same atmosphere that prevailed back in the 1950s still exists today.

According to Hatib, the massacre embodied the wish to expel the Arabs, which is identical with the spirit behind Lieberman's plan to relocate the Arab residents of an area known as the Triangle of Arab communities, to the Palestinian Authority.

Chairman of Ra'am-Ta'al Sheikh Ibrahim Tzartzur has said the Arab parties fear that Lieberman's bid to raise the threshold for gaining seats at the Knesset to 10 percent "is first and foremost aimed to eliminate the Arab parties."