After a morning of last-minute hesitations and demands upon Prime Minister Sharon, outgoing Minister Benny Elon did not withdraw his letter of resignation, and it in fact took effect shortly before noon today. MK Elon thus leaves the post of Minister of Tourism, which he assumed after Moledet Party leader Rehavam Ze\'evi was assassinated in October 2001.
Elon said late this morning that he would cancel his letter of resignation if Sharon would announce the cancellation of the security mini-Cabinet. The outgoing minister said that the majority that Labor ministers Peres and Ben-Eliezer had over Sharon in the three-man body, and the fact that the important decisions were made there and not in the full government, neutralized the fact that the government is headed by a right-wing party. Sharon, unsurprisingly, did not agree to the condition, and Elon\'s resignation went into effect. He and his Knesset-faction colleague Avigdor Lieberman met this morning with President Moshe Katzav, who attempted to dissuade them from their intention to resign. Lieberman refused outright to reconsider, and in fact his resignation from the government was never in question. 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.
MK Elon explained his apparent flip-flop to Arutz-7 today:
\"The Moledet Party secretariat sat until the early hours of this morning, and decided that if we could find a way to take advantage of the fruits of the negotiations of the preceding 48 hours, we should do this. This meant that we almost could have obtained the nullification of the security mini-cabinet - the body of three, namely, Prime Minister Sharon, Peres, and Ben-Eliezer, in which Sharon is a minority against Labor - and this was my goal. This idea came from former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira, whom I visited to consult on this matter. It was his idea, and it began to gain steam. Rabbi Shapira and [former Chief] Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu spoke with [Sharon\'s top aide] Uri Shani and with Sharon himself, and the idea started to roll. Sharon was interested, because it was important to him that we remain in the government…
\"At the end, it became clear that Sharon could not afford to give me such a letter which would lead to the immediate resignation of Labor and the end of the national-unity government… I regret that my other party colleagues [in National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu] left me on my own in this effort…\"
Asked if this was the end of the partnership between Moledet and the other two NUYB parties, Tekumah and Yisrael Beiteinu, MK Elon said, \"What happened today definitely saddened me. But tomorrow is a new day and I assume that the sorrow will pass…\"
Elon said late this morning that he would cancel his letter of resignation if Sharon would announce the cancellation of the security mini-Cabinet. The outgoing minister said that the majority that Labor ministers Peres and Ben-Eliezer had over Sharon in the three-man body, and the fact that the important decisions were made there and not in the full government, neutralized the fact that the government is headed by a right-wing party. Sharon, unsurprisingly, did not agree to the condition, and Elon\'s resignation went into effect. He and his Knesset-faction colleague Avigdor Lieberman met this morning with President Moshe Katzav, who attempted to dissuade them from their intention to resign. Lieberman refused outright to reconsider, and in fact his resignation from the government was never in question. 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.
MK Elon explained his apparent flip-flop to Arutz-7 today:
\"The Moledet Party secretariat sat until the early hours of this morning, and decided that if we could find a way to take advantage of the fruits of the negotiations of the preceding 48 hours, we should do this. This meant that we almost could have obtained the nullification of the security mini-cabinet - the body of three, namely, Prime Minister Sharon, Peres, and Ben-Eliezer, in which Sharon is a minority against Labor - and this was my goal. This idea came from former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira, whom I visited to consult on this matter. It was his idea, and it began to gain steam. Rabbi Shapira and [former Chief] Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu spoke with [Sharon\'s top aide] Uri Shani and with Sharon himself, and the idea started to roll. Sharon was interested, because it was important to him that we remain in the government…
\"At the end, it became clear that Sharon could not afford to give me such a letter which would lead to the immediate resignation of Labor and the end of the national-unity government… I regret that my other party colleagues [in National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu] left me on my own in this effort…\"
Asked if this was the end of the partnership between Moledet and the other two NUYB parties, Tekumah and Yisrael Beiteinu, MK Elon said, \"What happened today definitely saddened me. But tomorrow is a new day and I assume that the sorrow will pass…\"