After a morning of last-minute hesitations and demands upon Prime Minister Sharon, Benny Elon did not withdraw his resignation letter, and it in fact took effect at six minutes to noon. MK Elon thus leaves the post of Minister of Tourism, which he assumed after Moledet leader Rehavam Ze\'evi was assassinated in October 2001. Elon said that he would cancel his letter of resignation if Sharon announced the cancellation of the mini-Cabinet. The outgoing minister said that the majority that Peres and Ben-Eliezer had over Sharon in the three-man body, and the fact that the important decisions were made there, neutralized the fact that the government is headed by a right-wing party. Sharon, however, did not agree, and Elon\'s resignation went into effect. He and his Knesset-faction colleague Avigdor Lieberman, whose resignation from the government went into effect at 11:25, met this morning with President Moshe Katzav, who attempted to dissuade them from their intention to resign. Lieberman refused outright to reconsider. Palmach Ze\'evi, son of the late Minister Ze\'evi, criticized Rabbi Elon this morning for his last-minute moves. The National Religious Party also had sharp words upon Elon for re-considering his resignation.