The outgoing Cabinet of Israel met today for its last session and decided to dissolve itself. Premier Moshe Sharett will submit the resignation of himself and his colleagues tomorrow to President Itzhak Ben Zvi, who is then expected to ask David Ben Gurion to form a new government.
Mr. Ben Gurion completed Friday his preliminary discussions with leaders of all parties, except the rightist Herut and the Communists. In an article in today’s Davar, Labor Party daily, Mr. Ben Gurion writes that all the parties he contacted, except the General Zionists, are prepared for a broad coalition. The General Zionists, he says, feel they cannot join the government in view of the election results. Nonetheless, Mr. Ben Gurion warns that it will be difficult to form a coalition because of the demands of the various parties. Further in the article, he outlines the following minimum program on which a coalition he led would have to be based:
1. Progress toward economic independence for Israel; 2. Settlement of deserted and uninhabited areas; 3. Encouragement of immigration of Jews from abroad, especially from North Africa and the Arab lands; 4. The institution of social and cultural efforts to bridge the gap between the old “Yishuv” and the new immigrants, and 5. Maintenance of a state of watchfulness in relation to the state’s security.
In reference to the last point, Mr. Ben Gurion adds that while there must be no relaxation in the country’s efforts to strengthen its military position and keep up its preparedness through improving the army’s equipment, training and morale, “we must solemnly maintain the armistice agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. But at the same time, we must demand their strict maintenance by our neighbors.” He also insists that “efficient steps” must be taken to decrease the tension along the borders and to strive “tirelessly” for peaceful relations and cooperation between Israel and the Arab states.
ISRAEL PRESIDENT TO SWEAR IN NEW PARLIAMENT TODAY
The third Knesset, which will meet in a brief inaugural session tomorrow, will be informed of the dissolution of the Sharett Cabinet, but it is unlikely to launch any debate on a new government. It is expected to swear in new members and elect a Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the House.
Special arrangements have been made for tomorrow’s Parliamentary session, to which all members of the last Parliament have been invited. President Ben Zvi will swear in the new deputies, address them briefly, then turn over the gavel to the eldest member, Rabbi Mordecal Nurok. Rabbi Nurok will then proceed to the business of electing a new Speaker.
Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker of the last Parliament, is favored overwhelmingly to be reelected. Some difficulty, however, is expected in the election of Deputy Speakers, because the Herut, Achdut Avodah and Mapam, which do not now have Deputy Speakers, are expected to demand that one of each of their number be named Deputy. This, the other parties are expected to oppose.
Among the last acts of the old Cabinet today were the ratification of trade pacts with France and the Netherlands.
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