Meretz Party leader MK Yossi Sarid, who has been a Member of Knesset since 1974, announced his resignation last night, only minutes after Israel Television's exit poll gave Meretz only five Knesset seats, half of its total in the outgoing Knesset. Although Meretz in fact won 6 seats, and not 5 as Sarid thought, this will apparently not affect his decision. Sarid stated that he accepts responsibility for the poor performance, and said that it's time for "new faces" to take over. Oslo architect Yossi Beilin, who was given the 11th place on the Meretz list after being bumped out of Labor, will not enter the Knesset. He has not been a MK since resigning in 1999 after Prime Minister Ehud Barak appointed him a minister in the government.



Sarid has served in the Knesset since 1974. He began in the Labor Party, and helped form the Ratz party in the 11th Knesset. In the next knesset, Ratz joined with two other parties to form Meretz.