Former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced here today that he would be willing to head the Mapai-Ahdut Avodah election list for the next Knesset (Parliament) if he would be thus designated as the alignment’s candidate for Prime Minister, and if Mapai would formally ask him to head its list.
He made that statement to a meeting of the Mapai minority which is opposing Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. However, Mr. Ben-Gurionreiterated his objections to the Mapai-Ahdut alignment, and said he would not accept a candidacy on the alignment’s election list for the Histadrut, Israel’s federation of labor.
Mapai’s central office lost no time to issue a statement declaring that only its central committee and the members of its faction in Parliament were authorized to make up the election list and to decide who is to be the candidate for Premier. In speeches today, Deputy Prime Minister Abba Eban, who has lined up with Mr. Eshkol, and leaders of Ahdut Avodah, emphasized that the head of the election list–which would mean designation for the Premiership–should go to Mr. Eshkol.
At the Cabinet’s regular, weekly meeting, today, Premier Eshkol formally announced the resignations from the Government of Deputy Defense Minister Shimon Peres and Joseph Almogi, Minister of Housing and Development, who quit last week in support of Mr. Ben-Gurion. Mr. Eshkol also announced, and the Cabinet approved, the naming of Chaim Zadok as Minister for Trade and Industry. That post had been held by Pinhas Sapir, who is Minister of Finance. A Cabinet replacement for Mr. Almogi has not yet been decides upon.
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