Free Republic

Sep. 8, 2004 23:32 | Updated Sep. 9, 2004 8:50 PM not considering national referendum By GIL HOFFMAN Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets with The Jerusalem Post Tuesday, September 7, 2004. Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has no plans to take his unilateral disengagement plan to a referendum of the general population, Sharon's spokesmen said on Wednesday, reiterating comments Sharon made to The Jerusalem Post the day before. Sharon's office refuted a Channel 2 report from journalist Amnon Abramowitz that the prime minister's associates told Social Affairs Minister Zevulun Orlev that Sharon would agree to a referendum if...

Oct. 23, 2003 Israel issues tender for over 300 homes in West Bank By YAAKOV KATZ The Housing Ministry issued a tender Thursday for the construction of more than 300 new housing units in two West Bank settlements. According to the tender, 153 new homes will be built in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron near Nablus and another 180 units will be constructed in Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem. The US-backed road map peace plan calls on Israel to halt construction of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas, where the according to the plan, the Palestinians...

May. 20, 2003 Eitam calls on PM to revoke Int. Minister's authority on conversions (UPDATE) By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF</P< Construction and Housing Minister Effi Eitam (NRP) on Tuesday called on the prime minister to revoke Interior Minister Avraham Poraz's authority on conversions to Judaism and the granting of Israeli citizenship, after Poraz announced he would stop the automatic granting of citizenship to converts to Judaism in Israel. "Citizenship will be granted based on humanitarian concerns such as uniting families, identification with Israel, or an ability to concretely contribute to Israeli society, in the case of artists, scientists or...

Analysis / Sharon in the center, with Shinui on the left and settlers on the right By Yossi Verter On Saturday, before the Sabbath was over, Ariel Sharon made his decision. He ordered his loyalist, Uri Shani, to close the deal with the National Religious Party and shower it with goodies: two ministers, a deputy minister, chairman of a committee and deputy speaker of the Knesset. The prime minister only forgot to tell Amram Mitzna. Yesterday morning, five hours after the media was reporting the sealed deal with the NRP, Sharon called Mitzna and ended their brief affair. Sharon knows...

Shinui and NRP deals seal 61-seat coalition for PM (UPDATE) ------------ Gil Hoffman Feb. 24, 2003 ------------ The Likud signed coalition deals with Shinui and the National Religious Party on Sunday, giving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the 61 MKs needed to form a coalition. Talks began late last night with the seven-member National Union faction in an effort to widen the coalition. The faction was expected to be offered the Transportation and Immigrant Absorption portfolios. If Histadrut chief Amir Peretz's Am Ehad Party joins the coalition, it will reach 71 MKs. Sharon ordered the coalition talks accelerated after it became...

"Unsuccessful" Talks Help Diffuse Tensions MKs Zevulun Orlev of the NRP and Tommy Lapid of the avowedly secular Shinui party met today, but disagreed on topics such as Shinui's demand for civil marriages and public Shabbat transportation in Israel. Shinui also wishes to have Reform conversion recognized. NRP leader Effie Eitam said afterwards that though he does not rule out the possibility of sitting in the same government as Shinui, it does not appear workable under the current circumstances. Although Shinui and the NRP failed to come to a mutual understanding on many of the issues facing Israeli society today,...