Blunt Israeli diplomat dropped from election list

Israel's foreign minister has dropped his deputy, known for international incidents, from his list of candidates for Israel's January 22 election.

Danny Ayalon made headlines during a diplomatic spat with Turkey in 2010, when he forced the Turkish ambassador to sit on a low stool as an insult, and saw to it that the scene was televised. The maneuver worsened the crisis between the two nations. Ayalon eventually apologized.

When Foreign Avigdor Lieberman, head of their party, read his list of candidates for parliament on Tuesday, Ayalon was not on it, party spokesman Tal Nahum said.

Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu Party is running on a joint list with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud. Polls indicate the combined list will finish first, and Netanyahu will remain in his post.