Tzipi Livni is fighting against Israeli soldiers is an enemy and we will fight back, but I believe that this is not under the definition of terrorism, if the target is a soldier." In 2007, she met with Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, to discuss "improving the lives of the Palestinian people, without compromising Israel's security." On 2 May 2007, Livni called for Olmert's resignation in the wake of the publication of the Winograd Commission's interim report criticizing Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for their handling of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. She offered herself as leader of Kadima if
Meretz new chairman. On 22 December 2008, Meretz finalized its merger with Hatnua HaHadasha ("The New Movement") for the 2009 Israeli elections. The joint Meretz-Hatnua HaHadasha list ended up winning only 3 seats in the elections. This electoral loss was largely attributed to traditionally left-wing voters choosing to strategically vote for Kadima, in an effort to get Tzipi Livni to head the next government instead of Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud. Following the party's failure in the 2009 legislative elections, some of the party members called for the resignation of the party chairman Haim Oron and to give way for Zehava Gal-On.