Tzipi Livni that ensures Israel's security and identity as a Jewish and democratic state. From 2001 to 2009, Livni served in the cabinets of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, most notably as Israel's Foreign Minister, during which time she led multiple rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians. In September 2008, Livni prepared to take office as Prime Minister of Israel, but the political climate in the country prevented her from forming a government. The following year, she led her party to win a plurality of seats in the Knesset, but was again blocked from becoming prime minister, due to the rightist
Benjamin Netanyahu that it had "dangerous implications". Opposition party Kadima leader Tzipi Livni remarked after the address that she thinks Netanyahu does not really believe in the two-state solution at all; she thought that he only said what he did as a feigned response to international pressure. Peace Now criticized the speech, highlighting that, in the group's opinion, it did not address the Palestinians as equal partners in the peace process. The Secretary General of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, said, "It's a rerun of Netanyahu from his first term". On 9 August 2009, speaking at the opening of government meeting Netanyahu repeated