Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz suggested Thursday morning that his party would join a Likud-led government if Israel were to hold serious dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. Mofaz spoke at a conference at Tel Chai college.
“If there's a diplomatic goal, most members of Kadima will want to join a unity government,” Mofaz said.
“Whoever does not want to join – they will be the ones responsible for dividing the party,” he added. “I have no intention of playing a role in splitting Kadima, I want unity.”
Mofaz has been accused of seeking to split Kadima and join with Likud. A new bill that would allow any seven MKs from one party to break off and form a new party has been popularly dubbed “the Mofaz bill.”
Mofaz expressed optimism over the chances for an Israel-PA peace accord. A final deal could be reached within two or three years, he suggested. The PA should first form a state with transitional borders, he said.
"If Bibi [Netanyahu] moves in this direction, I promise that Kadima will gather together and I will lead the party into the government, for the sake of the diplomatic process,” he proclaimed.
"I do not share Netanyahu's aspiration to divide Kadima or Livni's aspiration to see the fall of the government,” he said.
According to Mofaz supporters who spoke Thursday with Maariv/Nrg, Mofaz was more direct in his criticism of Livni in a private conversation the night before. “It's hard for me to picture her as prime minister,” Mofaz allegedly said of Livni. “She's never completed a serious task or seen something through to the finish.”