Israeli outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak has finally accepted Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon’s offer of the defense portfolio, effectively finalizing plans for a national unity government, according to reports.
The agreement was announced late Thursday on the Israeli TV, but Barak did not comment to the press about what caused him to change his mind after announcing that he would take a break from public life after a 25-point difference defeat in the February 6 election and repeated refusals to be Sharon’s defense minister.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the top posts in the country have now been decided, as Barak also claimed the foreign ministry for his Labor party. Sharon had offered the party two of the top three portfolios. Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres is to be named foreign minister on Friday and Likud MK Silvan Shalom finance minister, said the paper.
Haaretz said Barak and Sharon met alone at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, and after two hours they released a joint statement announcing that two leading portfolios in the new government will go to two Labor Party leaders.
Barak expressed hopes that the government's composition will be approved by Labor's central committee early next week. In striking the deal with Sharon, Barak ignored trenchant criticism leveled against him on Thursday by Labor colleague Haim Ramon, who claimed that the outgoing prime minister lacks the authority to finalize an agreement with Sharon. Barak was assailed by Ramon at a following meeting by the steering committee which Labor has formed to deal with the unity government issue. The Post quoted the minister as asking Barak to keep his word and leave politics.
According to the terms of the deal, which is expected to be signed on Sunday, Likud and Labor will each have seven ministers, not including Sharon, and an equal number of ministers in the security cabinet. The basic guidelines for joining the government will not include a commitment to an undivided Jerusalem, as the Likud was seeking, or support for a demilitarized Palestinian state, which was sought by the Left, said the daily.
Likud lawyer Eitan Haverman told the paper the first draft is finished and has been given to the politicians. He said the draft contains no surprises.
But differences remain between Israel's Likud and Labor parties on the common government program.
Quoted by AFP, the secretary general of Israel's Labor party, Ranaan Cohen, said that "minor differences remain “on the issues of colonization, the Palestinian state and military conscription for young orthodox Jews,” but “these can be overcome, and I hope we will be able to have an influence on the decisions of the government.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that the government is also expected to include four ministers from Shas and one each from Yisrael Ba'aliya, the National Religious Party, Yisrael Beiteinu, and the National Union. United Torah Judaism has not decided whether to accept a portfolio. Other portfolios are expected to be given to the Center Party's Dan Meridor and Roni Milo, Gesher's David Levy, a non-Jew, and possibly Herut MK Michael Kleiner.
On Friday, the Post said that the interior minister in the new government will be a member of the Shas party.
Senior Shas party sources told the daily that Shas leader Eli Yishai has received an unofficial promise from Sharon that the interior ministry will fall under his party's control.
Sharon was apparently conducting talks with Yishai parallel to the negotiations between Labor and Likud party leaders, said the paper, citing an Army Radio report.
Meanwhile, MK Yuli Edelstein, a senior figure in Yisrael Ba'Aliyah, responded to the Shas claims by saying that his party will continue in the coalition talks in an effort to obtain control of the foreign ministry.
Hours after Barak and his successor agreed to form the government, the US State Department said it looks forward to working with such a government.
"Clearly a government such as this would be one that we could work with," a senior State Department official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We would look forward to working with whatever government emerges," the official said, adding that Washington would wait for the actual formation the unity government before making further comments – Albawaba.com
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