The coalition talks between Prime Minister Sharon and Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna will resume on Friday, when they will meet for the third time. The Labor Party is clearly indicating the presence of cracks in the wall of Mitzna's objections to joining a Sharon-led unity government. Some Laborites have requested a party meeting for early next week to decide to officially nullify the party's blanket objections to entering the unity government.
Prime Minister Sharon has asked Labor officials not to publicize that which Sharon has promised them in the diplomatic sphere - but they did divulge that Sharon presented them with a detailed explanation of his intentions vis-a-vis the Palestinian Authority. Arutz-7 has learned that Sharon has agreed to give Labor the same amount of ministerial portfolios as Likud, despite the fact that the Likud won twice as many Knesset seats as Labor.
MK Rabbi Michael Melchior (Labor-Meimad), speaking with Arutz-7 today, would also not divulge precisely what Ariel Sharon told Amram Mitzna last night to convince the latter to continue coalition talks - but he did give some broad hints:
"The Bush outline was discussed, and it includes the establishment of a Palestinian state with permanent borders three years from now - borders that run roughly along the 1967 lines, with slight changes; I assume that Sharon will want to make some larger changes… Yes, it's very likely that the right-wing parties will have problems with what was said… But this is nothing new: Sharon has said all along that whoever doesn't want a Palestinian state will have no place in his government…"
Leaders of the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza) met with NRP representatives in the Knesset today, in an attempt to convince them to stand fast and not agree to include the Bush plan in the new government's guidelines.
Prime Minister Sharon has asked Labor officials not to publicize that which Sharon has promised them in the diplomatic sphere - but they did divulge that Sharon presented them with a detailed explanation of his intentions vis-a-vis the Palestinian Authority. Arutz-7 has learned that Sharon has agreed to give Labor the same amount of ministerial portfolios as Likud, despite the fact that the Likud won twice as many Knesset seats as Labor.
MK Rabbi Michael Melchior (Labor-Meimad), speaking with Arutz-7 today, would also not divulge precisely what Ariel Sharon told Amram Mitzna last night to convince the latter to continue coalition talks - but he did give some broad hints:
"The Bush outline was discussed, and it includes the establishment of a Palestinian state with permanent borders three years from now - borders that run roughly along the 1967 lines, with slight changes; I assume that Sharon will want to make some larger changes… Yes, it's very likely that the right-wing parties will have problems with what was said… But this is nothing new: Sharon has said all along that whoever doesn't want a Palestinian state will have no place in his government…"
Leaders of the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza) met with NRP representatives in the Knesset today, in an attempt to convince them to stand fast and not agree to include the Bush plan in the new government's guidelines.