Israeli PM's Party Resumes Coalition Talks With Rebellious Shas

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's One Israel bloc Wednesday afternoon resumed talks with the ultra-orthodox Shas party, trying to drag the rebellious partner back to the ruling coalition.

Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, representative of One Israel, met with his Shas counterpart and Health Minister Shlomo Benizri to discuss ways of settling the two sides' difference over the coalition crisis, according to Israel Radio reports.

Shas, with 17 seats in the 120-member Knesset (parliament), is the biggest partner of Barak's One Israel in the coalition government.

It announced its pullout from the government Tuesday afternoon. The party also voted against the government in last weeks' Knesset preliminary reading for a bill calling for early elections.

Shas officials stated that ministers and deputy ministers from the party will submit their resignation letters to the coalition in Sunday's cabinet meeting and the decision will take effect in 48 hours thereafter.

The quitting will make Barak's control in the Knesset shrink from a majority of 68 seats to a minority of 51 seats.

To show his determination, Shas leader Eli Yishai boycotted Wednesday morning's security cabinet meeting, saying that he did not feel as a minister in the cabinet any longer.

Local analysts said the resignation, like a hold-up-or-I-will- jump adventure, obviously left at least several days for the government and the rebellious party to maneuver and resume their partnership.

Shas' Council of Torah Sages, which made the quitting decision, said in a statement Tuesday: "The Shas movement has not been a full partner in the coalition, both in terms of cooperation in the peace process and in terms of finding an appropriate solution for Israeli children."

However, most Israelis believe that the real drive behind the party's threats is its unmet additional financial demands for its corruption-ridden and almost bankrupt religious educational network.

On Wednesday, reports said the gap between the sum of money the government is willing to provide and the sum Shas demands has been reduced to several million shekels and a deal is about to be reached.

However, the insatiable Shas seemed to have added new items onto its demand list, reportedly asking for a say in the peace talks with Arab countries and legalizing its private radio stations.

During Wednesday afternoon's talks, Shas demanded that a bill legalizing its radio channels be brought before the Knesset, and only after that will the party drop its support for early-election bills.

There is no immediate announcement about the talks' outcome. In a related development, Barak invited Interior Minister Natan Sharansky, leader of another rebellious party Yisrael Ba'aliya, to his office for consultation Wednesday afternoon, trying to keep the party in the coalition.

Yisrael Ba'aliya and National Religious Party (NRP), two right- wing fellows of Shas in the coalition, are on the verge of quitting the government following Shas' pullout.

Several Yisrael Ba'aliya and NRP Knesset members warned before Shas' move that if Shas pulls out, they will also leave the coalition, which will declare the de facto breakup of Barak's government, as its seats in the Knesset will be reduced further to 42.



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