"Two lawmakers from the right-wing Jewish Home party endorsed opposition MK Tzipi Livni on Sunday for the post of deputy secretary-general of the United Nations.
According to the Haaretz daily, Livni, who now heads the Hatnua Party and is number two on the Zionist Union faction in the Knesset, was asked to join the world body by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a phone call over the weekend.
Her appointment would have to be approved by the UN Security Council...
Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon said he would welcome the nomination. 'It would be an honor and a great service to the State of Israel,' he tweeted.
The offer comes amid a row at the UN over the proposal to name former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad the organization's envoy on the Libya conflict.
The US blocked the appointment in a move hailed by Danon. Israel and the US reportedly fear the appointment of Fayyad, a former World Bank economist, is meant as a further signal of recognition for Palestinian statehood. The UN General Assembly voted to recognize a Palestinian state in 2012, granting Palestine the status of non-member observer state.
According to Haaretz, the offer to appoint Livni is meant as a quid pro quo, in exchange for the US allowing Fayyad's appointment through. It would mark the highest ever position attained by any Israeli at the UN..."