The embattled Labor party chairman has been locked in a feud with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over a telephone conversation he had with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week.
Olmert accused Peretz of exceeding his authority in discussing peace options with Abbas, while Peretz charged Olmert with maintaining contact with PA officials without him. Political observers say Olmert is now seeking a way to gracefully oust his Defense Minister.
The backbiting between Olmert and Peretz has become an issue for his Labor party as well.
Peretz faced an angry membership at the Labor party meeting Thursday night in which calls for his resignation were peppered with comments about the deterioration in his relationship with Olmert that resulted from his conversation with Abbas.
The Defense Minister charged his critics with turning the “world upside down” and bitterly cast aside calls for his resignation. As for his talk with Abbas, Peretz said, “I am not slamming the phone on anyone, so long as there is hope for peace.”
Labor party members say he has reversed his priorities since taking on the defense portfolio, scuttling the party’s platform in the process. Promised changes in aid levels for Israelis living at or below the poverty line and those who are unemployed have been placed on the back burner, charged party members.
Peretz is also being held at least partly responsible for the government’s mismanagement of the war this summer with Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon. He is being blamed as well for the government’s inability to stop the Kassam rocket attacks on Sderot, where he has been a long-time resident.
The Labor party chairman agreed at the meeting to convene the party’s Central Committee on December 17, in order to set a date to hold leadership primaries.
Olmert accused Peretz of exceeding his authority in discussing peace options with Abbas, while Peretz charged Olmert with maintaining contact with PA officials without him. Political observers say Olmert is now seeking a way to gracefully oust his Defense Minister.
The backbiting between Olmert and Peretz has become an issue for his Labor party as well.
Peretz faced an angry membership at the Labor party meeting Thursday night in which calls for his resignation were peppered with comments about the deterioration in his relationship with Olmert that resulted from his conversation with Abbas.
The Defense Minister charged his critics with turning the “world upside down” and bitterly cast aside calls for his resignation. As for his talk with Abbas, Peretz said, “I am not slamming the phone on anyone, so long as there is hope for peace.”
Labor party members say he has reversed his priorities since taking on the defense portfolio, scuttling the party’s platform in the process. Promised changes in aid levels for Israelis living at or below the poverty line and those who are unemployed have been placed on the back burner, charged party members.
Peretz is also being held at least partly responsible for the government’s mismanagement of the war this summer with Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon. He is being blamed as well for the government’s inability to stop the Kassam rocket attacks on Sderot, where he has been a long-time resident.
The Labor party chairman agreed at the meeting to convene the party’s Central Committee on December 17, in order to set a date to hold leadership primaries.