Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on Sunday fired Ezer Weizman, a Labor member of the Cabinet, for “maintaining contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization.”
He stressed that was not only a violation of the law, but of standing government policy.
Shamir announced his action at the end of the weekly Cabinet meeting, creating a cloud of uncertainty over whether the Likud-Labor unity coalition government will survive.
Although the Labor ministers were locked in conference over the situation late Sunday evening, pundits were fairly sure they would not leave the government on behalf of Weizman, a political maverick and, in the eyes of many, a “has-been.”
Vice Premier Shimon Peres, the Labor Party leader, told the Cabinet earlier that he does not accept Weizman’s dismissal. He also accused Shamir of provoking a government crisis.
The coalition agreement stipulates that the prime minister cannot oust a Labor minister without the agreement of the vice premier.
Shamir acknowledged that but argued that the law empowering the prime minister to fire any minister took precedence over the agreement.
Informed sources said Shamir advised Peres of his intentions last Thursday and spoke about it again Sunday morning to Peres and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Labor’s No. 2 man.
Weizman apparently was not informed in advance, but did not appear surprised. While he denied some of Shamir’s charges, he reportedly did not dispute some the facts the premier cited at the Cabinet meeting.
SHAMIR INFORMS THE NATION
Weizman said he hoped his Labor colleagues would stand by him by leaving the government. He said he welcomed the crisis, because it would force the two major parties to confront “without hypocrisy” the core issues of the peace process.
Weizman, who held the science and development portfolio, has been the most outspoken critic of Shamir’s peace initiative toward the Palestinians, which he does not consider viable.
Shamir said in a prepared statement to the country Sunday night that he made his decision with “a heavy heart,” because he wants badly to preserve the unity government.
He said there was no cause for Labor to secede from the government and argued that most Laborites, in fact, dissociated themselves from Weizman’s position.
He accused the minister not only of maintaining contacts with the PLO, but of “schooling them” on how to deal with Israel and the U.S. government to “undermine our peace plan.”
Shamir charged that Weizman was trying to focus debate on whether or not Israel should talk to the PLO, when, in fact, the government has decided categorically that it never will.
Weizman, for his part, said Shamir was heading for a confrontation with the Bush administration over the peace initiative.
He said the United States and the Arab world are now “united with Egypt” over the proposed Israeli-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo and rather than be pressured, Shamir fired him to shift the political focus.
Weizman added that his ouster might be a “blessing” if it caused the two major parties to “drop the cant and humbug,” and deal honestly with the question of talks with the Palestinians.
He said he had always openly advocated dealing with the PLO.
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