Religious parties threaten to withdraw from Barak's coalition

The religious parties in Israel threatened yesterday to withdraw from the ruling coalition in case Israeli Prime Minsiter Ehud Barak abandons three Arab villages adjacent to Jerusalem and moves authority over them to the Palestinians.

Eliyahu Suissa, minister of infrastructure and a member of the Shas Party, asserted that speaking about delivering these villages to the Palestinians pushes the party to outside the coalition.

Yitzhak Levy, minister of housing and chief of the National Religious Party, said his party does not accept turning Jerusalem into a besieged city that is threatened by what he depicted as terrorism.

The three villages are El-Ram, Abu Dis and Ezaria.