ISRAEL’s Prime Minister claimed he was committed to peace yesterday after protests over his appointment of a far-right ultranationalist as defence minister.

Opening his weekly cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu said he wished to clarify that his broader government will “continue to seek a peace process with the Palestinians.”

Hundreds of people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on Saturday night in opposition to PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s choice of Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman as defence minister.

Demonstrators from the the pro-peace Meretz party said Mr Netanyahu had formed the “most right-wing government in the history of the state” by his inclusion of the pro-settler extremist, who they dubbed “a minister of war.”

Meretz MP Tamar Zandberg said: “This week we reached new heights of extremism and an even more right-wing government,” labelling Mr Lieberman “corrupt” and “racist.”

Relative moderate Moshe Yaalon resigned from the post on Friday, saying his faith in Mr Netanyahu had broken down and that the Prime Minister’s Likud party was now ruled by “extremist and dangerous elements.”

Mr Lieberman has previously called for Israel to return to its policy of assassinations of Hamas movement leaders in the besieged Gaza Strip.

On Friday Hamas politburo member Fathi Hammad said the party’s leadership was not intimidated by the threats, as it commemorated the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe), the murder or expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians following the creation of the state of Israel on their land.

“We do not call for war but we would fight if it was imposed upon us,” Mr Hammad said.