World

Israel Gov't Takes Shape

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 28, 1999 / 1:16 PM EDT / CBS

Marching toward what could become IsraelÂ's broadest government in years, Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak sealed a deal Wednesday to bring the powerful ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas party into his coalition and announced that he would present his Cabinet to parliament next week.

The final makeup of the coalition emerged earlier this week, when talks between Barak and the hard-line Likud party broke down. Barak then accelerated talks with parties that were not opposed to his plans to revive talks with the Palestinians and Syria, frozen by the outgoing Likud-led government.

Â"Shas signed the coalition agreement. This brings us to 69 seats in parliament so far, giving him a wide government," said Barak's spokeswoman Merav Parsi-Tzadok. Israel has a 120-member parliament.

Barak's stood Wednesday at 59 seats, but it was likely to have the support of 10 Arab members of parliament who would not be brought into the government.

Parsi-Tzadok said it was likely that two additional parties would soon join the budding coalition giving Barak a 77-seat majority, the widest parliamentary majority in Israel in years.

Â"This brings parties from all sides of the political spectrum into Barak's government, fulfilling his pledge to create a wide coalition to heal the rifts in Israeli society,Â" Parsi-Tzadok said.

Shas, a parliamentary power-broker with 17 seats largely from its base of Jews of Middle Eastern descent, has taken a relatively dovish Â– but noncommittal -- line on Israeli-Arab accords and ceding land for peace.

Barak reportedly promised Shas four major ministries: Labor, Health, Religions and Infrastructure.

Leader of the left-leaning Labor Party, Barak has struggled day and night to assemble his coalition since defeating incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud party on May 17. Barak has until July 8 to forge the coalition.