Barak Quits Labor Party, Forms New Parliamentary Faction

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly announced Monday that he was leaving his Labor Party and forming a new parliamentary faction inside the governing coalition, completing a split in the iconic party over the handling of peace talks with the Palestinians.

The dramatic and unexpected move did not immediately threaten the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's parliamentary majority. Instead, it appeared to strengthen Netanyahu's hardline coalition by leaving it with a smaller, yet largely like-minded majority.

But by strengthening hardline elements in the government, it left peace prospects even more uncertain.

Barak, a former prime minister and one of the most powerful members of the government, will stay in the ruling coalition with four followers. Labor's eight remaining members, political doves pushing for Israel to get peace talks back on track, are expected to quit a government they criticize as undermining peace efforts.

The departures would leave Netanyahu with 66 seats in the 120-seat parliament, a smaller majority but rid of dissenting voices unhappy with the state of peace talks.

Announcing his decision, Barak said he was tired of the infighting within Labor. He accused his former partners of moving too far to the dovish end of the political spectrum.

"We are embarking on a new path," he told a news conference at Israel's parliament. "We want to wake up without having to compromise, apologize and explain."

"We are forming today a faction, a movement and in the future a party that will be centrist, Zionist and democratic," he said. He did not take any questions. The new party is called Independence.

Labor has been the sole moderate party in Netanyahu's coalition, which is otherwise dominated by religious and nationalist parties that oppose major concessions to the Palestinians.

Barak and Netanyahu have had a mutually beneficial relationship. The men have known each other for decades, back to the time that Barak was Netanyahu's commander in an elite commando unit in the army.

As a former prime minister, Barak has given Netanyahu a well-known and relatively moderate face to deal with the international community, particularly with the United States. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has given Barak extra influence in decision making.

But Labor members have grown increasingly unhappy with Barak, accusing him of enabling Netanyahu to stall in peace efforts. Although Barak is an outspoken advocate of peace with the Palestinians, he also takes a tougher line on security matters than some of his counterparts and has moved slower than they would like on favoring concessions to the Palestinians.

Negotiations with the Palestinians broke down in late September after Netanyahu allowed a freeze on settlement construction to expire.

The Palestinians refuse to negotiate without a total freeze in place, and Netanyahu has refused to extend the moratorium, despite heavy U.S. pressure.