A rancorous feud between two senior Likud Cabinet members over immigrant housing has thrown the Knesset into turmoil and could lead to another attempt by the Labor Party to topple Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s narrowly based government.
The latest outburst occurred at a meeting Tuesday of the Knesset Finance Committee, when Housing Minister Ariel Sharon accused Finance Minister Yitzhak Moda’i of sabotaging his plans to house Soviet olim.
The outspoken Sharon, who heads the Ministerial Absorption Committee, repeatedly accused Moda’i of “deliberately undermining” his efforts.
The equally vocal Moda’i, who controls the Treasury purse strings, has opposed Sharon’s plans to spend millions importing prefabricated and mobile homes and has insisted on many occasions that finding jobs for Soviet olim is more important than housing.
The clash in the Finance Committee was described by those present as the most heated ever between the two men.
Committee Chairman Avraham Shohat of the Labor Party said Labor would consider introducing another motion of no confidence in the Shamir government. A no-confidence motion failed by two votes in the Knesset on Monday.
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