Reuters is reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rewritten The Rocky Horror Picture Show by taking a step to the right:

JERUSALEM, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert moved closer on Monday to shoring up a government under fire over the Lebanon war by adding a far-right party whose leader wants to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

"We are joining the government," Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beitenu party, told reporters after talks with Olmert.

For those tuning in late, the Yisrael Beitenu Party believes in annexing major parts of the West Bank, among other policies guaranteed to make the Palestinian Question burn for another decade. Its founder, Avigdor Lieberman, left the Likud Party, believing it was too moderate, and favored coddling Arabs and Palestinians. He has a novel view of “ethnic cleansing” of Israel:

Avigdor Liberman, a former Likud member, ... is known for his plan to redraw the Green Line border with the Palestinian Authority in such a way that the areas of "Meshulash" ("Triangle", eastern Sharon) and Wadi-Ara (which was transferred to Israel from Jordan as part of the 1949 Armistice Agreements) will return to Arab sovereignty. This will mean that some third of the Arab citizens of Israel would lose Israeli citizenship. He justifies the idea of giving up a part of the State of Israel by arguing that the residents of the area are Arabs who see themselves as Palestinians rather than Israelis, and therefore should be encouraged to re-unite — including, controversially, providing financial incentive for Arab Israeli emigration out of Israel whenever territorially applicable — with the Palestinian Authority as part of establishing two separate national entities: one for Israelis and one for Palestinians.

While many in the international community advocate the “two state” solution, this plan, by disenfranchising quite a few Arabic Israeli citizens without assisting the Palestinian Authority with financial support, will put further economic burden on the Authority, which is already nearly bankrupt. As reported by Electronic Intifada in April, 2006:

Canada and the United States of America (USA), followed by the European Union and Japan, have suspended their financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). This came in the wake of the Palestinian legislative council elections that were held last January, the resulting victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) that secured the movement a parliamentary majority, and the subsequent formation of the Palestinian government by the Hamas parliament bloc. These parties, in an attempt to compensate for their decision to cut aid to the PNA, have decided to continue to provide humanitarian assistance through United Nations (UN) institutions and through non-governmental organizations (NGO's).

Democratic elections in Arab communities are only valid if West-approved parties and candidates win.

Additionally, many of these Arabic Israeli citizens live and work in Israel. By changing their nationality through administrative fiat, they will become “foreigners” and will be required to obtain PA passports and undergo daily “inspection” (and harassment) at IDF checkpoints, which will just add to tensions.

But this partnership will give Olmert a larger majority in the Knesset, thereby protecting his job. He has been the subject of a lot of criticism because of the Israeli defeat by Hezbollah in the Lebanese incursion earlier in the summer.

Isn’t it amazing what politicians will do in order to save their jobs? Fire. Gasoline.