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Barak's new faction helps stabilize Netanyahu government

By Adam Gonn: 0 Comments Print E-mail Xinhua, January 19, 2011

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According to an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the latter's new faction will receive four portfolios in the Likud-led coalition.

Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak attends a news conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 17, 2011. [Xinhua]

Barak stunned Israel's political establishment early Monday morning when he announced his resignation from the post as chairman of the Labor Party in favor of establishing a new party, the "Independence" (Atzmaut), while taking with him four of Labor' s lawmakers in the Knesset.

Analysts told Xinhua that while it is still too early to tell if the new lineup of the government would portend any drastic change in direction, Barak's new faction will help stabilize Netanyahu's government.

A stable government

Peter Medding, a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the departure of some left-leaning Labor members from the government does not automatically mean that the new government will be more right-leaning.

Asked if the new composition of government might affect the Palestinian-Israeli talks, Medding said that much of the old mechanics still remained, along with the resistance from the ultra- orthodox Shas party or Israel Beiteinu, lead by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

"Whatever changes the government underwent, I don't think they (the changes) would make the Palestinian-Israeli talks go worse," Medding said, adding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might also face internal Likud opposition over any advance of the peace process.

Medding said in the past the Palestinians might claim that it was impossible to conduct serious peace negotiations with Netanyahu's government, since it constantly faced Labor's threat of leaving the government.

But now, Barak's new faction will provide a much more stable government with which the Palestinians can negotiate, Medding added.

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