Maybe this'll slow him down a bit...

[khaosworks]

Sharon Fires Ministers, Government in Crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government was plunged into crisis on Tuesday after he kicked ministers of the linchpin Shas party out of his government for voting against an emergency economic package.

He faced the challenge of governing with a narrowed parliamentary majority and the possible threat of new elections.

In a stinging defeat for Sharon, parliament voted 47-44 on Monday against a 13-billion-shekel ($2.7-billion) package aimed at reining in swollen budget deficit created in part by higher defense spending to cover the army's offensive in the West Bank.

A fight for political survival by Sharon, a rightwing former general, could push aside international pressure for restarting peacemaking after 19 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence and for reforms in the Palestinian Authority

By all means, go to elections. Maybe then there'll be a change in the premiership and a chance for some rationality on the Israeli side...