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Shas Ministers Quit, Leaving Barak Minority in Parliament
Israel's biggest coalition partner, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, quit Prime Minister Ehud Barak's government on Tuesday, ruining Barak's parliamentary majority at a critical juncture in the Middle East peacemaking.
Four Shas cabinet ministers officially submitted their letters of resignation to Barak Tuesday afternoon and the resignations will take effect in 48 hours under relevant Israeli law.
The next 48 hours will be crucial for Barak, who is likely to use the time for more talks with Shas to try to solve the party's demands, this time, for not giving back land to the Palestinians.
If no agreement is to be reached by the two sides within 48 hours, Barak will have to accept the resignations.
Shas' governing Council of Torah Sages decided last Tuesday to order its cabinet ministers to submit their resignations to Barak " during the next cabinet meeting," if their demands for more funds for its ailing school system and the legalization of its radio stations were not met.
Barak postponed the cabinet meeting slated for Sunday in order solve the crisis. During this period, cabinet ministers from One Israel led by Barak held several rounds of meetings with Shas, bot could not solve the dispute between the two sides.
Shas' education system was in deep financial debt due to poor management and corruption in the past years and it has asked the Education Ministry under Yossi Sarid to allocate more funds, which Sarid refused.
Cabinet ministers of One Israel met with Shas leaders Monday night and progress was reported in the talks as the two sides have agreed on almost all issues raised by Shas.
But the talks became tougher as Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef had introduced a new clause in the Shas document of demands, namely preserving territory in the land of Israel.
Israel and the Palestinians are to thrash out a permanent peace deal by September, which would be preceded by transfer of more West Bank territories to Palestinian self-rule.
"The ball is now in the prime minister's court," said Shas' Eli Suissa, the outgoing national infrastructure minister.
Shas has 17 seats in the 120-member Knesset (parliament) and with Shas' departure, Barak coalition's 68-52 majority is dwarfed to a minority.
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