Likud threatens to go after Liberman’s base if Yisrael Beytenu walks out of coalition talks

The Likud is threatening to campaign in communities that make up the heart of Yisrael Beytenu’s base — immigrants from the Former Soviet Union — if the latter party’s chairman, Avigdor Liberman, does not return to coalition talks and agree to a compromise on the military draft law that would prevent early elections.

A statement to reporters attributed to a “senior Likud official” states that in the past election campaign, Netanyahu’s party did not invest resources in reaching out to Russian immigrants, in an effort to ensure that Yisrael Beytenu crossed the electoral threshold.

However, the same “senior Likud official” says that if new elections are called, his party will invest millions in campaigning in that sector.

“Liberman is throwing in the garbage all of the achievements that were offered to him [during coalition talks] for the Russian public,” the Likud official says.