The coalition negotiations continue to limp along. The Likud negotiators met last night in Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert\'s office with most of the right-wing and religious parties, and Olmert said that he hopes the process will be completed by the end of the week. Both Shas and Yisrael B\'Aliyah claim that the Interior Ministry that they covet will be theirs. The Labor party, for its part, will choose its Cabinet members this Friday. Sharon sent a message to Peres, saying that only someone with \"appropriate credentials\" will be acceptable for the post of Defense Minister.
Ma\'ariv political commentator Menachem Rahat explained to Arutz-7 today some of background information on the talks: \"Sharon is afraid of too big a government - it could number 28-32 ministers; the biggest until now was 26, under Yitzchak Shamir. This is caused by the fact that it\'s a unity government... One solution may be for Yisrael B\'Aliyah and the NRP to receive only one minister each instead of two... A major problem is that some parties want the same portfolios, such as Shas and Yisrael B\'Aliyah regarding Interior... Some things are more or less decided, however: Finance will go to Likud, probably to Silvan Shalom; Education, too, will probably go to Limor Livnat of the Likud; Agriculture will almost for sure go to Shalom Simchon of Labor, since no one is running against him... The Jerusalem Affairs Ministry, if it exists, will go to Jerusalem Mayor Olmert. Environment has no takers so far. Health is promised to Shas, namely to Shlomo Benizri. Interior may be given to the Likud\'s Ruby Rivlin, but then both Shas and Yisrael B\'Aliyah have to be compensated with heavy portfolios - such as Education, in which case, however, the NRP will jump and quit the coalition...\"
Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, leader of the National Religious Party, confirmed this last point in a talk with Arutz-7 today. He said, \"It\'s one thing for the Likud to say that Sharon promised to keep Education for the Likud - but to then give it to another party, this would be an insult to the entire party... In truth, I think everything can be solved easily, and it must be solved, because the main thing is for the government to get started already and fight the terrorists. Take today, for example: Palestinians shot at Kfar Saba, inside the Green Line - this is an escalation, it shows that no one is invulnerable, and whoever shoots at Yesha will shot in the cities as well.\"
Journalist Yoav Yitzchak reports that Likud MK Uzi Landau appears to be headed for the post of Public Security Minister. Landau, formerly head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, was likely to be a prime candidate for Defense Minister in a narrow right-wing government.
Ma\'ariv political commentator Menachem Rahat explained to Arutz-7 today some of background information on the talks: \"Sharon is afraid of too big a government - it could number 28-32 ministers; the biggest until now was 26, under Yitzchak Shamir. This is caused by the fact that it\'s a unity government... One solution may be for Yisrael B\'Aliyah and the NRP to receive only one minister each instead of two... A major problem is that some parties want the same portfolios, such as Shas and Yisrael B\'Aliyah regarding Interior... Some things are more or less decided, however: Finance will go to Likud, probably to Silvan Shalom; Education, too, will probably go to Limor Livnat of the Likud; Agriculture will almost for sure go to Shalom Simchon of Labor, since no one is running against him... The Jerusalem Affairs Ministry, if it exists, will go to Jerusalem Mayor Olmert. Environment has no takers so far. Health is promised to Shas, namely to Shlomo Benizri. Interior may be given to the Likud\'s Ruby Rivlin, but then both Shas and Yisrael B\'Aliyah have to be compensated with heavy portfolios - such as Education, in which case, however, the NRP will jump and quit the coalition...\"
Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, leader of the National Religious Party, confirmed this last point in a talk with Arutz-7 today. He said, \"It\'s one thing for the Likud to say that Sharon promised to keep Education for the Likud - but to then give it to another party, this would be an insult to the entire party... In truth, I think everything can be solved easily, and it must be solved, because the main thing is for the government to get started already and fight the terrorists. Take today, for example: Palestinians shot at Kfar Saba, inside the Green Line - this is an escalation, it shows that no one is invulnerable, and whoever shoots at Yesha will shot in the cities as well.\"
Journalist Yoav Yitzchak reports that Likud MK Uzi Landau appears to be headed for the post of Public Security Minister. Landau, formerly head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, was likely to be a prime candidate for Defense Minister in a narrow right-wing government.