WRAP Sharon coalition set for make or break Knesset vote, Palestinian cabinet

(30 Oct 2002) Jerusalem 1. Exterior of Knesset 2. Various of ministers in the Knesset halls 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Haim Ramon, Labor Party member "Israel needs to change this government because this government has failed in all aspects, economic, political and security. And when the government fails in such a clear way such a government must be replaced." 4. Cutaway ministers and Parliament members in hall 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuval Steinitz, Likud party: "Well, I hope that maybe the vote on the budget will be postponed for a week or two and then we will settle our differences with the Labor party." 6. Various Labor party leader Binyamin Ben Eliezer Piggat Zeeu, West Bank 7. Various Long shots of new settlements Ramallah, West Bank 8. Exterior of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters 9. Set-up Saeb Erekat, Senior Palestinian negotiator 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator: "We view this as an internal Israeli matter. But I'm afraid to say that if we are put in a situation whereby if Labor stay in the government (and agree to the budget) it will be at the expense of the Palestinians, meaning more money for the settlements. And if Labor quit the government, it will be at the expense of the government because of the extremist demands will mean more lands confiscation, more fait accompli policies and more settlements. So it's ironic that whether we have a unity government in Israel or a right-wing narrow government it Israel it will be at the expense of the Palestinians." 11.Various Palestinian politicians arriving 12. Wide shot round table 13. Various Palestinian cabinet members 14. Close up Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at head of table 15. Various Palestinian cabinet STORYLINE: Israel's Labor party has rejected a late-night compromise to save Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government and a Labor minister said the party was preparing to quit the coalition. The departure of Labor would not topple Sharon but would leave him with a narrow, unstable coalition. Leading legislators have said Sharon will probably be forced to call early elections, possibly after 90 days. The scheduled vote is in November 2003. Sharon's worst political crisis in 20 months in power comes at a time of crucial decisions for Israel - whether it should agree to a new US-backed peace plan and how it should react to a possible Iraqi attack in the event of a US Iraq war. The crisis was triggered by a dispute over funding for Jewish settlements in the 2003 state budget. Labor demanded that Sharon cut some 145 (m) million U.S. dollars in settlement funding. But Sharon refused, and said he would expel any party that votes against the budget. The budget vote was scheduled for 1130 am (0930GMT) on Wednesday but was delayed until 1600 local time (1400 GMT) However, some Labor ministers said they might submit their resignations even before the vote takes place. Meanwhile, in Ramallah, the new Palestinian cabinet met for it first session. Arafat won a tough political battle on Tuesday to approve his new 19-member cabinet, despite demands from legislators for more sweeping reforms and limits on his authority. Palestinian legislators voted 56-18 to approve Arafat's new Cabinet after a day of heated discussions in parliament. It was a rare success for the Palestinian leader who has recently faced repeated military sieges by the Israeli army and increasing criticism from fellow Palestinians. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...