Last update - 00:00 06/11/2006
Peretz unlikely to choose Ehud Barak as Pines-Paz replacement
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz is unlikely to offer former prime minister Ehud Barak a cabinet seat in place of the recently resigned Ophir Pines-Paz, associates of Peretz said on Sunday.
Pines-Paz's resignation last week, to protest Avigdor Lieberman's entry into the government, sparked a move by three other cabinet members - Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Shalom Simhon and Isaac Herzog - to appoint Barak to the vacant seat.
However, Peretz evidently prefers to leave Barak, a rival for the party leadership, outside the cabinet: He did not schedule a meeting with Barak upon the latter's return from Chicago over the weekend, and onlookers said he appeared to be avoiding his rival at two weekend events in memory of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin that both attended.
Barak has told other Labor members that he would like the job.
However, the decision ultimately rests with Peretz, as Barak's supporters in the cabinet say they are not willing to pick a fight with the party leader over this issue.
Peretz's first choice for the job is MK Matan Vilnai, who would like the appointment, but only if it does not require him to resign from the Knesset.
Thus far, however, Peretz is sticking to his demand that the new minister leave the Knesset in order to make room for another Labor MK to enter.
Meanwhile, to give himself more time to decide, Peretz on Sunday appointed Herzog and Education Minister Yuli Tamir to replace Pines-Paz in the security cabinet and the Culture and Sports Ministry, respectively, until his position is filled.