Right-wing Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak reached an agreement Tuesday for a coalition government incorporating both parties. Netanyahu has had difficulty negotiating a new coalition with more moderate parties. The Labor Party is divided over the agreement, with some Labor officials planing to vote against the deal to prove the party ?has a backbone?. If the agreement fails to pass, Netanyahu might be forced to give up some government posts to nationalist party members. In order keep his promise of creating a broader government, Netanyahu needs to successfully integrate the Labor Party.
See "Israel coalition deal reached, says Labor official", CNN, March 23, 2009