Go Lieberman.

I admit that I get an enormous amount of entertainment watching Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman in action. It is not so much that I agree with his positions or political party but watching all sides of the political spectrum go into meltdown over most of what he says gives me hours of enjoyment. This guy is definitely not for the PC crowd.

The Ynet News reports Lieberman has finally snatched his manhood back from Olmert:

Fifteen months after being sworn in, Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman and Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman announced Wednesday he was resigning his office and that his party was leaving the coalition.

The move, which was announced in a press conference, came just two weeks before the Winograd Commission, probing the Second Lebanon War, plans to release its final report; but the official reason behind the move was disagreements with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the core issues.

Lieberman told reporters he had given Olmert he letter of resignation, which will come into effect in 48 hours: "We haven't always seen eye-to-eye but we were always frank with each other," he said. Lieberman's position as minister for strategic affairs was tailored specifically for him in exchange for Yisrael Beiteinu joining the collation, as he was made responsible for gathering "strategic intelligence" on Iran. Besides Lieberman, Yisrael Beiteinu's Yitzhak Aharonovitch was named tourism minister and MK Stas Misezhnikov the head of the Knesset's Finance Committee.

The move, said Lieberman was made despite it's being contrary to the party's electoral interests: "Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not reckless… as I've said dozens of time, we have to do what we can to stop the Annapolis process." Yisrael Beiteinu's contribution to the government, he added, should be measured by the bills it passed: "We allowed the IDF time to regroup by providing political stability… compared to the days after the Second Lebanon War, we now have a completely different military."

The negotiations with the Palestinians, said Lieberman, have already hit a dead-end: "Anyone believing the fight is about territory is kidding himself and others… if we adopt Beilin's way (Meretz-Yahad Chairman MK Yossi Beilin) and go back to the '67 line will the fighting stop? Will the terror stop?

"Israeli Arabs will keep their Palestinian citizenship and keep colleting their social security benefits from the State of Israel… they come right out and say 'we will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state and we want autonomy in the Negev and Galilee. That's what will happen if we go back to the borders of '67," he added. "We find the entire principle of territories for peace wrong. It should be about the exchange of both territories and populations… Our problem is not Judea and Samaria but the fanatic leadership in the Knesset."

The Israeli people, he continued, are ready – now more than ever – to consider such an exchange: "There is no reason not to mention Israeli-Arabs, just like we mention the refugees… anyone who burn the Israeli flag on Independence Day, any professor who kicks out a reservist or won't let a student sporting the flag on his backpack into class – it's utter madness. "Our biggest problem are (MK Ahmad) Tibi and (Hadash Chairman Mohammad) Barakeh, who are even more dangerous than (Hamas politburo chief Khaled) Mashaal and (Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan) Nasrallah, because they work from the inside."

Now if only Shas would go, but there maybe hope there too according to this brief snippet at the Jerusalem Post:

Aware that Shas would soon be the only right-leaning member of the government, the party's mentor, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, issued a directive Tuesday for it to leave the coalition as soon as serious negotiations begin on the fate of Jerusalem.

Previously, Shas had said they would only quit the coalition if a deal were reached on the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But Yosef upgraded the threat Tuesday and said that raising the Jerusalem issue with the Palestinians in a serious manner was reason enough to leave. Shas chairman Eli Yishai, currently visiting China, informed Lieberman of the rabbi's new instructions in a phone call. Lieberman did not tell Yishai whether or not he would resign from the government.

Go Shas. Go Labor and Pensioners (Meretz can stay) but mostly; Go Olmert.