Likud faction member Silvan Shalom is convening his supporters on Sunday night in the hope of mounting a pressure campaign against party leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who appears to be handing the foreign ministry portfolio to Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman.

Shalom, who is Netanyahu�s political nemesis, expected to be appointed foreign minister again, as was the case in the previous Netanyahu-led coalition government.

Close associates of Netanyahu are not too concerned, aware that Shalom no longer maintains the second slot in the party lineup and he no longer presents a threat from within, having dropped significantly in his standing in Likud.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)