Support diminishing for Sharon

JERUSALEM -- Labor Party ministers submitted their resignations Wednesday in a dispute over funding for Jewish settlements, breaking up Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hardline government and paving the way for early elections.\nThe crisis ended an uneasy 20-month partnership that had been formed to steer the country at a time of intense conflict with the Palestinians. The political turmoil could sabotage U.S. efforts to win support for a three-phase peace plan that envisons Palestinian statehood by 2005.\nLast-minute efforts Wedn-esday to reach a compromise over the settlements failed, and Labor said it would vote against a 2003 draft budget later in the day. Labor ministers were demanding a cut in $145 million in funding for the settlements, but Sharon refused.\n"We are going to vote against the budget and the coalition will fall," said Avraham Shohat, a Labor legislator.\nResponding to the resignations, Sharon said he will continue to lead the country, suggesting he will not seek early elections.\nSharon was expected to maintain a narrow majority in parliament, meaning he would not be brought down by Labor's departure. However, a narrow coalition resting on small far-right factions is unstable, and Sharon's coalition chairman said he expected the prime minister to call snap elections.\nIsraeli elections, possibly within 90 days, would delay implementation of the U.S.-backed peace plan. If Sharon continues to govern, his far-right partners would likely object to many of the provisions, such as a settlement freeze and a significant Israeli troop pullback.\nDevelopments on the Palestinian side also suggested the peace plan would run into problems. The proposal calls for sweeping reforms of the Palestinian government and the security services. However, the Palestinians signaled Tuesday that they would settle for more modest changes; parliament approved a new Cabinet that was largely unchanged, with only three new ministers.\nThroughout Wednesday, there were efforts to avert the breakup of the coalition. Sharon and Labor leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer met for three hours in a parliament conference room. Shouts were heard from the room, and at one point, an angry Ben-Eliezer stormed out, only to return later.\nIn the end, Ben-Eliezer and other Labor ministers, including Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, submitted their resignations which will take effect within 48 hours.\n"We did everything possibile to preserve the government, but to my great regret there were those who believed that this was the time to break up the government," said Finance Minister Silvan Shalom of Sharon's Likud Party.\nLabor legislator Haim Ramon, who is challenging Ben-Eliezer for party leadership in Nov. 17 primaries, praised the decision. "I'm happy that we will not be partners in a government that is a failure in all aspects of life," Ramon said. "We need to leave the government and present an alternative."\nWith the apparent breakup of the coalition, Israel appeared headed for elections, possibly within 90 days. The scheduled vote is in November 2003.\nBen-Eliezer's critics have accused him of creating an artificial crisis. The sum at issue -- a cut of $145 million in settlement funding demanded by Labor -- represents only 0.3 percent of overall spending. At the same time, Labor primaries are only three weeks away, and Ben-Eliezer is trailing two more dovish challengers. Leaving the government over a settlement dispute could boost his standing among dovish party members.\nLabor joined forces with the hardline Sharon after he routed their candidate in prime ministerial elections 20 months ago. The party was widely expected to bolt the coalition before November 2003 to try to position itself as a moderate alternative to Sharon.\nWhile the breakup of the coalition could lead to an election within 90 days, the political maneuvering could also drag on for months without resolution. Ben-Eliezer asked Sharon on Tuesday to begin talks on setting an election date, suggesting March or April as possibilities.