Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has announced his resignation and indicated new elections would be held within 60 days. Mr Barak said that the emergency situation in Israel, and the need to continue reducing the violence and make progress at peace negotiations, have led him to “ask again for the trust of the people of Israel". "Tomorrow morning I will officially inform the president of my decision to resign and to stand in special elections as the head of the Labour Party for Prime Minister of Israel."
Under Israeli law, parliament will not dissolve itself and Barak's opponents for a prime ministerial vote must be sitting assembly members. Mr Barak will therefore avoid a face-off with former leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who opinion polls say would win an election. The embattled Israeli leader has been criticised for his handling of a Palestinian uprising that broke out in the vacuum left by deadlocked peace talks.
Tayeb Abdelrahim, secretary-general of the Palestinian presidency, said that Mr Barak’s resignation would affect the peace process. He refused to elaborate, saying: "I will not comment anymore on this subject which will be under the study of the Palestinian leadership.” The official nevertheless added that the resignation was "an internal Israeli matter in which we do not want to interfere”.
