Israel's Parliament to Convene Special Session in RecessIsrael's Knesset, or Parliament, will interrupt its summer recess next week and convene a special session to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Likud officials announced Tuesday.The special session was placed on the agenda at the request of the opposition party, which has gathered the law-required 21 signatures of Knesset members for holding such a session. The Knesset began its summer recess on August 2 and will not convene until the end of October. However, a special session could be convened if enough legislators request to do so. Likud parliamentary faction whip Reuven Rivlin said that the session will discuss Prime Minister Ehud Barak's continued peace contacts with the Palestinians and the current change of cabinet ministers. It is still unclear whether the opposition will submit no-confidence motions for the special session. Barak had hoped that the three-month recess, as a period of grace, would let him pursue peace targets without the interference of the parliamentary politics. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held several meetings to keep the current momentum of the peace process after the botched Camp David peace summit. The 15-day-long Camp David summit, attended by Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton, failed to reach any agreement last month. The Likud accuses Barak of making too many concessions in the talks and is mustering the opposition parties' support to topple Barak's government in the Knesset. In a related development, Likud leader Ariel Sharon met with former Center party leader Yitzhak Mordechai, who resigned from his transport portfolio early this year for his involvement in a sexual harassment scandal and subsequent trials. The two reportedly discussed the possibility of Mordechai's rejoining the Likud. Sharon is also due to meet former Foreign Minister David Levy, another Likud defector, to induce him back. Levy resigned from Barak's coalition last Wednesday for their disputes over the negotiating approaches with the Palestinians. |
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