Sharon Plans to Expand Government for Labor's Possible Withdrawal

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, April 07, 2002

Sharon Plans to Expand Government for Labor's Possible Withdrawal

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to expand the coalition government as three parties have expressed interest in joining the coalition while the Labor party has threatened to withdraw.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to expand the coalition government as three parties have expressed interest in joining the coalition while the Labor party has threatened to withdraw.

The central committees of the National Religious Party and the Gesher will convene Sunday to discuss whether to join the government. Gesher's Chairman David Levy will meet in the day with Sharon to finalize the terms for coming into the coalition.

Sharon plans to present Levy and the religious party's leaders, Yitzhak Levy and Effi Eitam, with appointments of ministers without portfolio, as well as members of the security-political cabinet and the extended kitchen cabinet.

Meanwhile, negotiations between Sharon and leaders of the National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party bloc, Avigdor Lieberman and Binyamin Elon, are underway over the party's return to the coalition.

Lieberman and Binyamin, who led the seven-seat party bloc in the Knesset (parliament), quitted the government on March 14 to protest Sharon's nerveless steps against "the Palestinian terrorism," leaving the coalition with 76 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

In the current Knesset, the Labor party has 24 seats, while Sharon's Likud holds 19, Shas 17, Center Party five, Yahadut Hatorah five, Yisrael Be'aliyah four and One Nation two.

In the wake of the possible resignation of the left-wing Labor, Sharon must absorb more parties to join the coalition in order to ensure the absolute majority of seats held by the government in the Knesset.

According to the prime minister, even if the Labor finally decides to quit, the government would still have the absolute majority of 67 seats in the Knesset, following the participant ion of the National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu, the 5-seat religious party, and the 3-seat Gesher.

The Labor, however, has expressed its strong dissatisfaction over Sharon's move. In a stern warning to Sharon, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the Labor would not remain in the government if Sharon adds factions to the coalition without Labor's approval.

The Labor Knesset faction is set to meet early this week to decide whether to ask the party's central committee to approve leaving the government.

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