ISRAEL BEITEINU

(IB; Israel Our Home)

A right-of-center, Russian immigrant (see ALIYA)political partyheaded by formerLikud Partyinsider andBenjamin NetanyahuadviserAvigdor Liebermanthat won 4 seats in the election (see KNESSET ELECTIONS) for the 15thKnessetin 1999. Lieberman stressed the party's intention to bring about public unity and peace agreements with a consensus, however the focus of the platform was on immigrant needs: housing, strengthening ofdevelopment towns, fighting unemployment,education, employment equality, and immigration absorption.On 1 February 2000, it joined with theNational Union(NU) faction in the Knesset to form the Israel Beiteinu-National Union Party. This party won a surprising 7 seats in the 16th Knesset (2003) and joined the 30th government of Israel formed byAriel Sharonon 28 February 2003. However, its ministers (Lieberman and Binyamin Elon) were dismissed from thecabinetin June 2004 due to a dispute over theprimeminister's plan to disengage from theGaza Stripand areas of the northernWest Bank. Israel Beiteinu chose to submit an independent list for the election for the 17th Knesset and won 11 seats. It joined theEhud Olmert-led coalition government on 23 October 2006, with Lieberman serving as deputy prime minister and minister of strategic threats in the prime minister's office. On 16 January 2008, Lieberman resigned from the cabinet and Israel Beiteinu withdrew its support for the coalition to protest Olmert's negotiating strategy toward the Palestinians.