Netanyahu is between a rock and a hard place

As Israel's polititians continue to negotiate a new government it is woth reading Haaretz for a quick analysis of what the parties have to confront.

For Netanyahu if he resolves to form a governemnt with the right wing parties

such a coalition would come with a threefold cost: It would face heavy international pressure to resume the peace process and stop settlement construction, it would bloat the budget with financing for the ultra-Orthodox parties' demands, and it would suffer from internal tensions between Lieberman and Shas.

whereas if he brings Kadima and even Labor into the government,then whilst he would be deprived of ideological zeal it would

reduce the extortionary power of Lieberman and the religious parties, and free himself of reliance on the extremists of the National Union. Such a government would reduce international pressure on Israel a little.