The Labor party chose Brig.-Gen. (res.) Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, currently serving as Construction and Housing Minister, as the man to fill the post of Defense Minister in Ariel Sharon\'s new government. Three of the eight Labor party ministers are now known: Shimon Peres will be Minister of Foreign Affairs, and MK Shalom Simchon will be Agriculture Minister; both faced no opposition in their quests for the posts. Ben-Eliezer ran against former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Matan Vilnai and Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh for the Defense Ministry; he received 45% of the vote of the party\'s Central Committee members, while Sneh received 32.5% and Vilnai received 22.5%. Ben-Eliezer is regarded as relatively hawkish within his party, and was known to be Ariel Sharon\'s preferred choice among the three candidates.
The Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria) congratulated Ben-Eliezer on his appointment: \"The Council anticipates that Ben-Eliezer and Prime Minister Sharon will bring about the desired turnaround in Israel\'s defense policy, and will replace capitulation with initiative and victory.\" Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid said bitingly, \"The natural candidate for the Sharon government has been chosen. Ben-Eliezer and Sharon will no doubt share the common language of force.\"
The next round of voting in the Labor party began at noon for the five remaining Cabinet positions - including two without portfolio - in the new government. Among the candidates are Sneh, Vilnai, Dalia Itzik, Raanan Cohen, Salah Tarif, and several former Labor Knesset Members. The results should be known later in the afternoon. Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon plans to present his new government next Wednesday afternoon in a festive ceremony in the Knesset, and the Likud negotiators are working to complete the talks with the right-wing parties by then.
The Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria) congratulated Ben-Eliezer on his appointment: \"The Council anticipates that Ben-Eliezer and Prime Minister Sharon will bring about the desired turnaround in Israel\'s defense policy, and will replace capitulation with initiative and victory.\" Meretz leader MK Yossi Sarid said bitingly, \"The natural candidate for the Sharon government has been chosen. Ben-Eliezer and Sharon will no doubt share the common language of force.\"
The next round of voting in the Labor party began at noon for the five remaining Cabinet positions - including two without portfolio - in the new government. Among the candidates are Sneh, Vilnai, Dalia Itzik, Raanan Cohen, Salah Tarif, and several former Labor Knesset Members. The results should be known later in the afternoon. Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon plans to present his new government next Wednesday afternoon in a festive ceremony in the Knesset, and the Likud negotiators are working to complete the talks with the right-wing parties by then.