Israeli minister threatens to withdraw from Barak's government in case of freezing the settlement

Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Levy warned that his party will not be able to remain in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's government iif it freezes the construction of settlements in the West Bank.

Israel Radio quoted Levy as saying that he will study Barak's declaration of freezing the settlements, and if was for negotiating purposes or it referred to a long-run policy.

In this context, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Efrian Sneh said he asked heads of the settlers many times to participate in final status negotiations of instead of attempting to obstruct them.