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Israel’s Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beitenu head Avigdor Lieberman yesterday criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic policy, positioning himself further towards the political centre.

Lieberman is often regarded as a hard-liner and has recently sharply criticised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ credentials as a partner for peace. However, Haaretz reports that speaking yesterday at a closed event organised by the Friends of Tel Aviv University, Lieberman said “What’s happening now is that we aren’t doing anything.” He said “I respect Netanyahu, but the approach I’m presenting is more correct at this time,” than attempting to maintain the status quo.

Lieberman explained, “We must reach a diplomatic agreement — not because of the Palestinians or the Arabs, but because of the Jews,” adding “This is important for our relations with the European Union and the United States.” Lieberman advocated “I favour initiative. We must initiate. When you don’t initiate, you lose.” Ultimately, he warned “if we don’t initiate, we’ll reach a tsunami. The initiative must be a comprehensive regional agreement.”

Lieberman’s comments yesterday tally with media reports last month that a regional peace plan authored by Lieberman is the apparent lynchpin of a draft election platform titled “Swimming against the current—Yisrael Beiteinu’s vision.” In another indication that Lieberman may be shifting his party away from its hardline reputation, media reports suggested yesterday that three senior MKs, Meir Shamir, David Rotem and Uzi Landau may be dropped by Lieberman from the party’s list of electoral candidates. All are considered right-wing ideologues.

Diplomatic issues were also at the centre of a spat yesterday between Netanyahu and Labour’s Isaac Herzog and Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni, who have formed a joint electoral list. Herzog and Livni visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, declaring it will always remain under Israeli sovereignty. However, Netanyahu questioned how this would unfold under their leadership and a Likud statement challenged Livni and Herzog to state whether “they agree… to the establishment of a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem?”