FOR a man with a reputation as an organisational genius, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu has made a decidedly uninspired start to his prime ministerial career.
Most people expected that his new administration would get a chilly reception in the Arab world, and so it has proved, with leaders of some 20 regional states gathering in Cairo today to discuss how to relate to the right wing government.
What few foresaw, however, was that Mr Netanyahu would also wreak havoc within his coalition, bruising egos and creating fresh enemies almost by the day.
His first and so far worst miscalculation was trying to form a cabinet without Mr Ariel Sharon, the powerhouse former Likud defence minister who helped him win last month's elections by cajoling ultra Orthodox rabbis into instructing their communities to vote for him. In a move that smacked not only of foolishness but of betrayal, Mr Netanyahu excluded him from his initial cabinet jigsaw.
The omission produced a mini revolt in the Likud, with nine Knesset members threatening to vote down the new government before it had even been sworn in an act that would have necessitated new elections.
Trying to repair the damage, Mr Netanyahu is cobbling together a new "infrastructure" ministry for Mr Sharon - but other ministers are proving reluctant to give up any of their responsibilities.
Now Mr Netanyahu has the unenviable task of deciding whether Mr Sharon must be wooed into the cabinet at any price, or whether he dare leave him outside; either way, he has turned an ally into a formidable opponent.
A second ruffled rival is Mr, Dan Meridor - another leading Likud figure initially offered an insultingly insignificant cabinet post, but named finance minister after more talk of internal revolt. Before Mr Meridor has even settled into his new office, Mr Netanyahu has upset him again by appointing Mr Jacob Frenkel, the governor of the Bank of Israel, as a kind of personal prime ministerial economic adviser, drastically reducing Mr Meridor's power.
To irk one leading colleague might be considered an accident, and two an unfortunate coincidence, but Mr Netanyahu has managed to infuriate three. Making good on a pre election pledge, he named Mr Yitzhak Mordechai, a former general, a defence minister.
But at the government first cabinet meeting on Wednesday the Prime Minister announced the formation of a new National Security Council, to be headed by, a top Defence Ministry official.
This was a complete shock to, Mr Mordechai, who had not been, consulted beforehand and who like Mr Meridor, now finds himself heading a ministry whose influence has been significantly thinned down.
In reducing their authority, Mr Netanyahu is boosting his own. But it is a risky course. Middle ranking Likud members are already accusing him of "giving away the store" by mishandling negotiations with the various coalition partners.
Talk of defections, anti Netanyahu alliances and parliamentary "ambushes" is in the air, and it is already clear that the Netanyahu years are going to be beset by internal political squabbling.
None of this need really concern international observers, were it not for the growing fear in the Likud that the coalition crises, are a portent of prime ministerial clumsiness in Middle East peace talks. If he negotiates with the Arab neighbours as he has done at home, one prominent columnist, Meir Shalev, has observed, Israel will be lucky if it is left in control of Ra'ananah - a small town north of Tel Aviv.
Mr Netanyahu's government issued no response yesterday to a truce offer by Hamas, the militant Islamic movement responsible for a series of deadly suicide bombings in Israel.
A Hamas statement proposed "freezing military operations against Israel" if the new government freed various Ham as prisoners, lifted the closure orders on the territories and stopped hunting down members of Hamas and its Izzedin al Qassam military wing.
A Hamas spokesman called the offer "a golden opportunity" and said there was no deadline. Several such offers have been made in the past, and have sometimes promptly been dismissed by other Hamas sources as not representing the real wishes of the movement. In any case, Mr Netanyahu, who came to power calling for toughened action against groups like Hamas, is unlikely to enter any such deal.
Reuter adds: Israel will open a mosque in its parliament at the behest of a Muslim legislator who said Jews should not be the only religious group with a place of prayer in the Knesset.