The far-right Moledet party backed away from its threat to quit the government Tuesday and decided to give Likud another chance to consider ways to end the intifada.
But unless the Cabinet reaches a “clear decision,” Moledet will withdraw from the coalition, the party’s 30-member executive committee warned at a meeting in Tel Aviv.
Nevertheless, it rejected the recommendation of party leader Rehavam Ze’evi to walk out immediately because of the “government’s failure to cope with the intifada.”
Ze’evi, a minister without portfolio, joined the Cabinet barely two months ago at the invitation of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. His appointment was controversial because Moledet is considered an extremist faction.
Its platform calls for the “transfer” of the Arab population out of the administered territories, a euphemism for expulsion.
For the time being, it is putting pressure on the government to take tougher measures to end the 3-year-old Palestinian uprising. It has demanded a more aggressive policy of deportations.
Shamir did not seem overly concerned by Moledet’s ultimatum. The loss of its two Knesset seats would still leave the government with a comfortable majority of 64 in the 120-member parliament.
But it would increase the political clout of the Orthodox Shas and Agudat Yisrael parties, either of which could then bring down the government.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday that there is no problem meeting Moledet’s demands, as the government is continuously reviewing its policies toward the intifada.
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