Barak fights to reshape Israeli government

Only a small percentage of Palestinians now believe negotiations will prove successful

June 8, 2000
Web posted at: 7:14 p.m. EDT (2314 GMT)

In this story: Orthodox party holds key to coalition Palestinians doubt Barak's ability to deliver RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

JERUSALEM -- As Israel began a holiday weekend on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Ehud Barak was fighting to reshape his government after a parliamentary defeat that brought the future of the Middle East peace process into question.

The weakness of Barak's position follows a Knesset vote in favor of holding early elections, a measure that members of Barak's ruling coalition supported.

The event has shaken the confidence of Palestinians in the prime minister's ability to deliver a peace settlement.

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"I don't want to be confronted on Monday when I begin the negotiations with my Israeli colleagues telling me they cannot do it, " chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Thursday. "I hope this event in Israel will not be used as a pretext to bring us further and further from the requirements of peace," he said.

In the immediate aftermath of his parliamentary defeat, Barak pledged that no new elections will be held. He said he will reshape his coalition without those parties who voted in favor of an opposition-backed measure calling for early elections.

Barak also said the vote will not slow the momentum of the peace process.

Orthodox party holds key to coalition

But the largest of the three coalition parties who voted with the opposition was the ultra-Orthodox Shas party whose 17-seats make it a linchpin in Barak's 68-52 parliamentary majority.

Barak called Shas's bluff after they threatened to vote against his government in a bid to secure more funding for their bankrupt school system. But political analysts said on Thursday, Barak's best option would be to keep Shas in the government by giving in to the party's demands and allocating massive funding to its educational network.

His other option is to form a minority government supported from the outside by Arab parties, the analysts said. But they warned Barak could still face elections by the end of the year because the lifespan of a narrow government is limited.

Dr Reuven Hazan from Hebrew University, an expert on Israel's political system, said Barak's problems will probably slow the peace process because he will have to concentrate on holding his coalition together.

Hazan said that previous bills of the sort passed on Wednesday had a "snowball effect" and eventually led to new elections.

Palestinians doubt Barak's ability to deliver

Barak's apparent political weakness has Palestinians, particularly the young, doubting whether he can deliver a peace agreement acceptable to the Palestinians.

A recent survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of young Palestinians are becoming impatient with the slow pace of peace negotiations and believe that pressure, violent or otherwise, is the best way to win concessions from Israel.

Only a small percentage believe negotiations can fulfil Palestinian aspirations.

"There is a strong negative feeling towards the peace process among the new generation," said Palestinian political analyst Ghasan Khattib.

"There is a feeling that we, as a people, are humiliated by this peace process through the humiliation of our leadership," he said.

Though the bill to dissolve parliament must go through committee and face three more votes in parliament before becoming law, some political commentators said the vote sounded the death knell of the Barak administration.

The prime minister's office said Barak will "initiate contact over the coming days to examine the composition of an alternative coalition."

Barak vowed that he would sack cabinet ministers from the parties that opposed him on Sunday after the Festival of the First Fruits holiday.

Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and Reuters contributed to this report.

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