Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy presented Prime Minister Ehud Barak with a letter of resignation this morning. His resignation will go into effect in two days.
At a press conference Levy convened upon tendering his resignation, he said his move was prompted by the manner in which negotiations with the Palestinians were handled. Levy said that the understandings reached at Camp David would lead to the partition of Jerusalem.
"Since the Prime Minister and I set up this partnership, we worked in full cooperation, and a genuine friendship has evolved between us. However, the Prime Minister recently chose to follow a path I consider to run counter to the working rules we set up and abided by for months on issues that are fateful for the state's future. These issues bear on the very survival of the nation. It so transpired that, for the first time ever, we were prepared to move in a direction leading to a veritable partition of Jerusalem. And not only Arab neighborhoods are at issue. The heart of the Old City is at stake," Levy said.
The outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs added, "It's impossible for me to stay on in the cabinet and do things to which I'm opposed. This runs counter to my worldview and to my responsibility as a statesman."
Levy said it is impossible to take decisions that are so fateful for the future of the state with such a narrow-based government. He suggested setting up a national unity government for this reason, and when his proposal was not met, he decided to resign.
Levy accused Barak of having allowed other figures to participate in diplomatic moves. "The proliferation of channels has led us to this grave situation," he said. He added that, in his view, Barak had not meant the Camp David summit to produce the outcome that it did.
Levy claimed that he had not been promised re-admission into the Likud, and that he would continue as One Israel MK following his resignation.
After being presented with Levy's resignation letter, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said that he regretted Levy's move, but that he was not surprised. "I respect David Levy and the path that he has chosen, but I intend to continue leading the government, so as to carry out the changes required for enhancing Israel's future prospects," Barak said. "I'm committed to the objectives that this government has been set up to attain."
Barak added that a new government "with a broader base" would be set up in the next few weeks.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 2 August, 2000