The government of Ariel Sharon survived a no-confidence vote yesterday, as Labor decided to abstain. The vote was 46 in favor and 31 against; 61 MKs are required in order to pass a no-confidence motion, a number that would have been obtained had the 15 abstaining Labor MKs voted in favor. By abstaining, Labor, the leader of the opposition camp, signaled not only its satisfaction with the disengagement plan the Cabinet passed on Sunday, but also its apparent hopes of joining the government sometime in the future.
In protest of this non-oppositionary behavior, the smaller opposition parties, led by Shas, withdrew their signatures from a Labor-initiated demand that Sharon deliver a diplomatic address today. The speech would have had to be voted on, thus that the Prime Minister was saved from a potentially embarrassing incident in which some of his own Likud party colleagues might have voted against him.
In the meantime, the Knesset will vote on Thursday on an Arab party-initiated bill to dissolve the Knesset. On paper, the opposition numbers only 59 MKs at present, such that the Knesset is expected to survive the vote, but last-minute changes are possible.
The anti-withdrawal forces in the Likud Party convened yesterday in the office of Minister Uzi Landau. Among the participants were Minister Natan Sharansky, Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon, and MKs David Levy, Ehud Yatom, Yuli Edelstein, Moshe Kachlon, Michael Gorolovsky, Ayoub Kara, and Yechiel Chazan. Other Likud MKs are known to object to the withdrawal as well.
In protest of this non-oppositionary behavior, the smaller opposition parties, led by Shas, withdrew their signatures from a Labor-initiated demand that Sharon deliver a diplomatic address today. The speech would have had to be voted on, thus that the Prime Minister was saved from a potentially embarrassing incident in which some of his own Likud party colleagues might have voted against him.
In the meantime, the Knesset will vote on Thursday on an Arab party-initiated bill to dissolve the Knesset. On paper, the opposition numbers only 59 MKs at present, such that the Knesset is expected to survive the vote, but last-minute changes are possible.
The anti-withdrawal forces in the Likud Party convened yesterday in the office of Minister Uzi Landau. Among the participants were Minister Natan Sharansky, Deputy Minister Michael Ratzon, and MKs David Levy, Ehud Yatom, Yuli Edelstein, Moshe Kachlon, Michael Gorolovsky, Ayoub Kara, and Yechiel Chazan. Other Likud MKs are known to object to the withdrawal as well.