Rabin resigns from Defense Ministry

Deputy Defense Minister Dalia Rabin-Pelossof is quitting her job as second-in-command to Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer in protest against the Labor Party remaining in the government.

Two weeks ago, the deputy minister handed in a letter of resignation to Ben-Eliezer, but the minister - and party chairman - asked her to wait a fortnight before going ahead with the move.

Yesterday, Rabin-Pelossof called Ben-Eliezer in London to say she would give him a new letter of resignation today, when he returned from his trip abroad.

She told Ha'aretz last night that she had decided to remain as an MK in the Labor faction for time being, while continuing her activity at the Rabin Center for Peace. If that activity conflicted with her duties as a lawmaker, she said, she "won't hesitate" to quit the Knesset.

In her previous letter to Ben-Eliezer, Rabin-Pelossof wrote that she could not "in all good conscience" remain in a government that did not continue the legacy of her late father and that she felt that the national unity government "had reached its end." She said she did not agree with the policy adopted by the government and the lack of "a political horizon" that prevented negotiations with the Palestinians.