THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX Shas party announced yesterday that it would not join a new coalition led by Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, increasing the likelihood of a new election in Israel by early next year.
Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yossef decided to end weeks of negotiations with Ms Livni’s centrist Kadima party, announcing that the ultra-Orthodox party had not received satisfactory answers to its two main demands.
Shas had sought guarantees that the status of Jerusalem would not be negotiated with the Palestinians and had pressed for increased child allowances. Shas draws much of its support from large working-class families.
“Shas cannot be bought and Shas will not sell out on Jerusalem,” said party chairman Eli Yishai. “This has been our consistent line throughout negotiations.”
Ms Livni was given the mandate to establish a new government by Israeli president Shimon Peres more than a month ago after she won a primary contest in the ruling Kadima party following the resignation of prime minister Ehud Olmert.
With coalition talks dragging, the foreign minister on Thursday issued an ultimatum to all the potential coalition partners, telling them they had until Sunday to decide whether they wanted to join a new government.
Tomorrow Ms Livni will inform the president if she intends to form a government with a small parliamentary majority or whether she prefers new elections.
If she tells Mr Peres she has failed in her efforts to cobble together a working coalition, then elections will be called within 90 days.
Such a scenario will effectively freeze any important decisions by the Israeli government until spring 2009, notably on the separate Palestinian and Syrian peace tracks.
As foreign minister, Ms Livni was responsible for talks with the Palestinians. The two sides hope to clinch a deal before US president George W Bush leaves office, but that deadline has become highly unrealistic. Earlier this year Mr Olmert also launched indirect contacts with Syria.
In theory Ms Livni could still muster the support of 66 members of the 120-seat Knesset parliament if Labour, the Pensioners’ party, the leftist Mertez and the smaller ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism all commit by tomorrow to join the coalition.
However, Shas, with its 12 Knesset seats, was always considered a vital piece in the coalition jigsaw.
If early elections are held, Mr Olmert will remain as the head of a caretaker government until a new administration is formed.