Former Israeli Foreign Minister Livni quits politics

One of Israel's most prominent dovish politicians, former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, said on Monday she was leaving politics ahead of an April general election.  

A former peace negotiator with the Palestinians, Livni won recognition abroad for her part in U.S.-brokered talks that aimed to end the decades-old conflict and which collapsed in 2014.

But her career has been floundering in recent years, along with the Middle East peace process. The United States plans to present a new peace plan after Israel's April 9 election, with expectations of a breakthrough low.   

“I am leaving politics but I will not let Israel abandon the hope for peace,” a tearful Livni told a televised news conference in Tel Aviv.
 
Livni, now 60, served as foreign minister from 2006 to 2009. A former junior officer in the Mossad intelligence agency, she has been a member of several parties and coalition governments since entering politics in 1999 and has quit politics before only to return.