Tzipi Livni named leader of Israel’s opposition – Labor party

Israeli lawmaker and former minister Tzipi Livni was named leader of the opposition on Monday, according to a joint statement by her and the head of the Labor party. Once a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, Livni quit the party in 2005. The 59-year-old politician will replaces as opposition leader former Labor chief Isaac Herzog, who resigned his seat in parliament, AFP reported. Herzog will become head of the Jewish Agency, the quasi-governmental body that deals with Jewish immigration to Israel. Labor is the largest single opposition party in the Knesset, the parliament. However, its chairman Avi Gabbay is barred from serving as opposition leader as he is not a lawmaker. Livni has served as foreign minister, justice minister, deputy premier and immigration minister.