Oct 30, 1:28 PM (ET) By LAURIE COPANS JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hardline government crumbled Wednesday, after Labor Party ministers submitted their resignations in a dispute over funding for Jewish settlements. Sharon told parliament he would continue to lead the country, suggesting he would try to govern with a narrow coalition of far-right and religious parties rather than call early elections. The crisis ended an uneasy 20-month partnership that had been formed to steer the country at a time of intense conflict with the Palestinians. The political turmoil could sabotage U.S. efforts to win support for a three-phase peace plan that envisions Palestinian statehood by 2005. Last-minute efforts Wednesday to reach a compromise over the settlements failed, and Labor said it would vote against a 2003 draft budget. Labor ministers were demanding a cut in $145 million in funding for the settlements - a key stumbling block in Mideast peace talks - but Sharon refused. The vote was put to parliament after the Labor ministers resigned, and it passed anyway with the support of parties outside the coalition - as expected - by a 67-45 vote; it must pass two more readings in coming weeks before it is final. Under Israeli law, the resignations only take effect within 48 hours, leaving room for last-ditch maneuvers - but politicians from both sides assessed that Sharon's "unity government" was at an end. "We must fight terror, but this is the day when we have to present a diplomatic horizon," said Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. "The prime minister is unable to present a diplomatic horizon." Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who led Labor for much of the past two decades and has been a key supporter of the unity government, tried to convince Ben-Eliezer to back down. Peres then resigned along with Ben-Eliezer and four other Labor Party ministers. In Washington, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said: "The United States views the events in Israel as part of Israel's internal democratic process and we have no comment beyond that." If the resignations go through, Sharon would face the difficult choice of trying to stay afloat with the support of an array of extreme-right and religious parties. Israeli elections would delay implementation of the U.S.-backed peace plan. If Sharon continues to govern, his far-right partners would likely object to many of the provisions, such as a settlement freeze and a significant Israeli troop pullback. Developments on the Palestinian side also suggested the peace plan would run into problems. The proposal calls for sweeping reforms of the Palestinian government and the security services. However, the Palestinians signaled Tuesday that they would settle for more modest changes; parliament approved a new Cabinet that was largely unchanged, with only three new ministers. Throughout Wednesday, there were efforts to avert the breakup of the coalition. Sharon and Ben-Eliezer met for three hours in a parliament conference room. Shouts were heard from the room, and at one point, an angry Ben-Eliezer stormed out, only to return later. "We did everything possible to preserve the government, but to my great regret there were those who believed that this was the time to break up the government," said Finance Minister Silvan Shalom of Sharon's Likud Party. Labor legislator Haim Ramon, who is challenging Ben-Eliezer for party leadership in Nov. 17 primaries, praised the decision. "I'm happy that we will not be partners in a government that is a failure in all aspects of life," Ramon said. "We need to leave the government and present an alternative." Ben-Eliezer's critics have accused him of creating an artificial crisis. The sum at issue - a cut of $145 million in settlement funding demanded by Labor - represents only 0.3 percent of overall spending. At the same time, Labor primaries are only three weeks away, and Ben-Eliezer is trailing two more dovish challengers. Leaving the government over a settlement dispute could boost his standing among dovish party members. Labor joined forces with the hardline Sharon after he routed their candidate in prime ministerial elections 20 months ago. The party was widely expected to bolt the coalition before November 2003 to try to position itself as a moderate alternative to Sharon. Israel's coalition governments are chronically unstable and plagued by internal fighting. No government has completed its full term since the 1980s, and the country has had five prime ministers in the past seven years. http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20021030/D7N029NO2.html Hopefully whatever new govt. ends up forming from this will end up cutting at least that much from settlements. Things may change for the better yet. I still have hope for peace in the middle east.
Wednesday, 30 October, 2002, 18:50 GMT Israeli governing coalition collapses Talks to prevent Israel's fragile coalition government from collapsing have failed and Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres have both resigned. " We made every effort... to preserve the national unity government. These efforts failed " Silvan Shalom Finance minister, Likud Mr Ben-Eliezer, leader of the Labor Party, and Mr Peres pulled out of the government after the failure of three hours of talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to resolve a dispute over the state budget. Mr Sharon was asked after the talks if this resignation spelt the end of his 18-month coalition with Labor: "Yes, it looks that way," he replied. Correspondents say the developments cast a further cloud over the prospects of ending Israel's violent confrontation with the Palestinians. Warning Mr Sharon later told the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, that Mr Ben-Eliezer had "provoked the rupture of the natuional unity government". "The whole world knows the importance that I place on a national unity government," the prime minister told deputies. Mr Peres said all of his Labor colleagues in the government were giving in letters of resignation. They would take effect after 48 hours. The Labor Party joined forces with Mr Sharon's Likud Party in response to the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, which started two years ago. Mr Ben-Eliezer had earlier warned he would quit the coalition if Mr Sharon did not divert millions of dollars earmarked for Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. He was insisting that $150m allocated for the settlements be channelled into social spending and job creation. But Mr Sharon, a long-time supporter of the settlers, rejected Labor's demand, warning he would force out any party voting against the budget. Reports say the talks were acrimonious. The Associated Press news agency says shouts were heard coming from the meeting and at one point Mr Ben-Eliezer stormed out before being persuaded to return. Later Mr Ben Eliezer urged Labor Party deputies to go into parliament "and vote all of us as one party against the budget." However, parliament approved the budget by 67 votes to 45. 'No choice' Mr Sharon left the talks surrounded by bodyguards and walked, without expression, to a meeting with Likud Party colleagues. Without the support of Labor, Mr Sharon could cobble together a narrow parliamentary majority based on small right-wing and religious parties. But such a narrow government could prove unstable and unpopular, and the prime minister may have no choice but to call an election within 90 days. That would delay any efforts to find a new path to peace with the Palestinians. And after an early election there could well be a prolonged period of political bargaining before a new government is formed. A poll published in Israel's Yediot Ahronot newspaper says that if an election was held now, Labor would slide from 26 seats to 21 seats and Likud would rise from 19 to 29. There are more than 140 Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Their presences causes great disruption to the Palestinians and many Israelis believe settlements should be abandoned in the interests of reaching a compromise peace with the Palestinians. The resignations were welcomed by Labor deputy Haim Ramon, who is planning to challenge Mr Ben-Eliezer's leadership of the party. "I'm happy that we will not be partners in a government that is a failure in all aspects of life," he said. "We need to leave the government and present an alternative." I wonder what this means to the peace process, will the left take power? Oh man, this sure is going to change things up. Does this mean Israel doesn't have a govt?
Remember, Sharon gained power after the Palestinians rejected peace. Sharon's ascent to power was a product of Palestinian violence.
What the Palestinians rejected was not peace, but an unfair settlement that left them with no hope of true autonomy, and viable economic future.
It appears that the left may actually lose power. I think Sharon is actually popular in Israel. I would guess that the seats held be the left will become more dovish, but also fewer in number.
Sharon has to place an emphasis on a unity government because he really lacks on alternatives. Sharon had problems with <i>Shas</i> earlier this year on a budget issue.......and the religious parties are not the most visionary groups in Israeli politics....so a bad idea for a small coalition government of just <i> Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism</i> etc. Based on this article from several years ago, there seems to be a fracturing in Israeli politics with coalition governments likely into the forseeable future. <A HREF="http://www.yale.edu/accords/israel.html">Israel</A> <i> In contemporary Israel political representation can be divided into three major groups: Likud, Labor, and the religious parties (namely the National Religious Party, Shas and United Torah Judiasm). Together, these three blocs comprise 89 seats of the Knesset's (the Israeli Parliament) 120 seats. The respective breakdown is 32 seats for the Likud, 34 for Labor, and 23 for the religious parties. The current ruling coalition, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a conglomerate of the Likud, the three religious parties, and a number of less important parties such as a new immigrant's party (Yisrael Ba'aliyah) to name one. For our purposes we will stick to discussing only the Likud, Labor and the religious parties............ </i> The Labor Party (Left of Center) will probably have a struggle to capture the lead role in a new government. There appears to be a hardening of posions/view between the Left (open to cutting a deal with the Palestinians) and Likud (resistant to a deal unless Israel gets the <i>better half</i>).
The plan that Clinton and Barak offered did give them hope of gaining automomy, and Arafat walked out. Are you reading out of a Arab history book?
No that plan was ridiculous. Do you know which parts of the land was offered to the palestinians and what rights were granted the palestinians?
I agree with you on a good many things...but this isn't one of them. http://webmail.earlham.edu/archive/opf-l/January-2001/msg00018.html I would have walked out on that too.
I disagree with you on a good many things...but this isn't one of them, ref. My respect for showing a lot more flexibility than I would have credited you with.....
Damn, refman. That's my position, too. I'll have to remember that you don't always go straight down ideological lines. Free thinkers of the world, unite! (jk)
Thanks to MacBeth and haven for their kind words. We all know that I vote Republican. I am not a registered Republican and will speak out when I think they're dead wrong. THIS is one of those times. I do make an attempt to be fair.
