Ehud Barak has asserted his belief that the parliamentary majority of his Israeli government will be preserved. Speaking on an Israeli radio programme, Mr Barak said "I am convinced we can resolve the problem with Shas in an honest manner and we will certainly get through the coming days and weeks". He went on to say, "I call upon all the members of the coalition to join forces to resolve this crisis, which in my opinion is not really a crisis."
The Israeli government is facing the loss of its parliamentary majority just as it is preparing for new talks with Syria and the Palestinians. The ultra-orthodox Jewish Shas party has threatened to withdraw from the coalition government led by Ehud Barak because of a row with the Finance Ministry over money it wants allocated to religious education. A withdrawal of support by the party's 17 members of parliament would deny Mr Barak the majority he needs to govern. But a spokesman for the prime minister said he had asked Shas to delay a final decision for 24 hours.
Five Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas set free by Israel yesterday in a deal negotiated by Germany have returned to Lebanon. Some of the prisoners had served more than ten years and were being held in the hope of securing the return of missing Israeli servicemen. The guerrillas arrived home after first being flown to Germany. The release is being seen as a goodwill gesture by Israel, both to Hezbollah and to Syria, the main power-broker in Lebanon.
