Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced this afternoon that the entity known as the \"kitchen cabinet\" or the security mini-cabinet no longer exists. In the future, Sharon said, only the expanded Security Cabinet - comprised of the leaders of all the coalition parties - will deal with security issues. The mini-cabinet was an elite forum of three - Prime Minister Sharon, Foreign Minister Peres, and Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer - in which the Labor party had a majority. National Religious Party officials say the decision to do away with the only body in which Labor had a majority was the price Sharon paid for the NRP\'s entry into the government.
Labor MKs Ophir Pines and Yossi Katz say that if the decision is not rescinded, Labor must quit the government. MK Rabbi Benny Elon, who quit the coalition three weeks ago, said that he told Prime Minister Sharon at the time that he would not quit if the mini-cabinet was dissolved, but that Sharon rebuffed him.
In what is possibly a related matter, Arutz-7 correspondents report that the army was deployed to launch an air strike against the last remaining terrorist pockets in Jenin last night, but the government echelon vetoed it in order to avoid casualties to the Arab civilian population. It appears that a main consideration is the fear that the situation could be termed a \"massacre\" of Arabs. Foreign Ministry spokesmen clarified this morning that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres\' comments on this matter were \"completely distorted,\" and that Peres only \"expressed his concern that Palestinian propaganda is liable to blame Israel for a massacre, overriding the fact that a harsh battle against armed terrorists took place.\" Future war-crimes accusations are apparently on Peres\' mind; several weeks ago he warned his government colleagues that some of their planned actions might cause them to end up in front of the Hague International Tribunal.
Labor MKs Ophir Pines and Yossi Katz say that if the decision is not rescinded, Labor must quit the government. MK Rabbi Benny Elon, who quit the coalition three weeks ago, said that he told Prime Minister Sharon at the time that he would not quit if the mini-cabinet was dissolved, but that Sharon rebuffed him.
In what is possibly a related matter, Arutz-7 correspondents report that the army was deployed to launch an air strike against the last remaining terrorist pockets in Jenin last night, but the government echelon vetoed it in order to avoid casualties to the Arab civilian population. It appears that a main consideration is the fear that the situation could be termed a \"massacre\" of Arabs. Foreign Ministry spokesmen clarified this morning that Foreign Minister Shimon Peres\' comments on this matter were \"completely distorted,\" and that Peres only \"expressed his concern that Palestinian propaganda is liable to blame Israel for a massacre, overriding the fact that a harsh battle against armed terrorists took place.\" Future war-crimes accusations are apparently on Peres\' mind; several weeks ago he warned his government colleagues that some of their planned actions might cause them to end up in front of the Hague International Tribunal.