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Friday, 16 February, 2001, 12:47 GMT
Israel moves towards unity deal
![]() Grief for bus victims as path for peace remains unclear
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is reported to have accepted the post of defence minister in a government of national unity headed by his successor, Ariel Sharon.
The veteran Labour politician, Shimon Peres, has been offered the post of foreign minister in the broad-based coalition.
A Palestinian spokesman said they did not expect good things from the likely government. 'Government of generals' "The one-colour government is not a coalition government. It is a government of generals who carry out aggression against our people," Ahmed Abdel-Rahman told the Reuters news agency. Mr Abdel-Rahman's comments come as Israeli security forces prepare for another "day of rage" by occupants of the Palestinian territories following a week of bloodshed. In almost five months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, about 400 people - the great majority of them Palestinians - have been killed. 'Collaborator' killing In the latest violence, the AFP news agency reported a Palestinian security officer, Anwar Mustafa Merhi, 33, was killed in his home on Friday.
Mr Merhi is said to have taken part in the executions of such collaborators, who are reviled by many Palestinians. Contradictory strategies The Likud and Labour parties, Israel's two largest, have been at odds over how to make peace with the Palestinians. The hawkish Mr Sharon, regarded with fear and suspicion by many Arabs, opposes territorial concessions offered by Mr Barak before the election. But both sides have spoken of unity as a response to the Israeli-Palestinian violence.
BBC Middle East specialist Nick Childs says both sides stand to gain from a unity deal. Mr Sharon might ease fears that he is an extremist by working with internationally respected Labour figures such as Mr Peres, a Nobel peace prize laureate. Labour would gain continuing influence by joining a government led by Mr Sharon. Israeli radio said after the agreement was announced that Likud and Labour would have seven portfolios each in the national unity government. Likud and Labour together to do not control enough seats to form a majority government in Israel's splintered parliament. Labour approval A final decision on the participation of Mr Barak and Mr Peres in the government can only be taken at a Labour Party central committee meeting in the next few days.
Our correspondent says Mr Barak's decision to join a coalition so soon after announcing his retirement from public life is bound to anger many party colleagues and may even lead to a split. The talks came as Israel buried its dead from Wednesday's attack on Israelis by a Palestinian bus driver, who drove into a crowd, killing seven soldiers and one civilian. In response to the bus attack, Israel has imposed its toughest restrictions yet on access to and from the Palestinian territories:
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