First Rifts Emerge in New Israeli Coalition The first rifts in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expanded coalition have emerged, just a day after the Israeli leader brought the main opposition party into his government. Netanyahu and his new partner, Shaul Mofaz, pledged Tuesday to do away with the current system of automatic draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. Secular Israelis oppose the exemptions and the Supreme Court has ordered the government to end the system by Aug. 1. But on Wednesday, two members of the new coalition expressed disparate stands. Ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Moshe Gafni warned of a possible "cultural civil war" if the exemptions are lifted while Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads a secular party, said there can be no "foot dragging" on the matter. JERUSALEM (AP) - Now backed by a parliamentary supermajority, Benjamin Netanyahu has tremendous room to maneuver on Israel's most pressing issues: peace with the Palestinians, possible war with Iran, and the growing rift at home between religious and secular Jews. The stunning partnership with the opposition Kadima party, announced overnight Tuesday just as the nation was expecting him to call early elections, means the premier - if he so desires - can compromise with the Palestinians without being brought down by hard-line nationalists who had controlled his fate. "A broad national unity government is good for security, good for the economy, good for the people of Israel," Netanyahu declared at a news conference with Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz, his new deputy prime minister. With his coalition divided over a flurry of domestic issues, Netanyahu had declared in recent days that he would hold a parliamentary election in September, more than a year ahead of schedule. But as parliament convened late Monday to move toward elections, he and Mofaz were secretly wrapping up their power-sharing deal. Israelis were stunned to wake up Tuesday to a new political reality. Netanyahu now heads a 94-member coalition, one of the broadest alliances in the 120-seat parliament in Israeli history - putting him in a strong position to push forward with new initiatives. While Netanyahu emerges as a winner in that sense, the outcome is also a life raft for Mofaz. Netanyahu had been widely expected to win the election by securing a majority of seats for his Likud and the religious and nationalist parties that are its natural - but pesky - allies. The opposition center-left bloc was behind in the polls - and appeared headed toward splintering into several medium-sized parties to boot. For Israelis who felt alienated by the Netanyahu government - and they were legion among the country's various elites - there is now the prospect of a more moderate leadership no longer dependent on the extreme right. At the news conference, Netanyahu boasted of bringing "stability" to Israel's volatile political system, where governments rarely serve their full terms. The revamped coalition is expected to sit through the end of the parliamentary term in October 2013.