RAMALLAH, January 18 (JMCC) - Palestinians have said that a political shakeup in Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition will not effect the course of the flagging peace process,
reports Xinua.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told the state-run news agency Wafa that the crisis in the Israeli Labor party is merely Israel's internal affair, adding that when the Israeli government had to chose between peace and settlement, it chose settlement.
The current Netanyahu government is seeking to undermine the peace process and annul the results of the previous peace negotiations, Erekat said, who called on the United States and the international community to hold Israel responsible for stalling the process of peace talks.
Earlier on Monday, Barak announced that he had decided to quit his Labor Party, and form a new party called Independence.
Right after Barak's announcement, three Labor party ministers announced that they had also decided to quit the coalition government headed by Netanyahu.
The moves do not jeopardize the government, and Netanyahu was quoted as saying
Labor's split makes the government even stronger.