Israel's 'Shabbat crisis' ends in compromise

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel’s "Shabbat crisis", which began last week and climaxed with Health Minister Yaakov Litzman's resignation on Sunday, appears to have ended following the intervention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

In a statement, the Israeli premier said that Israel’s current Likud-led government was the best option for the country’s citizens.

"Our [ruling] coalition is strong and stable; we will maintain our unity for our people," Netanyahu declared.

According to local media outlets, Netanyahu on Sunday evening met with Litzman, the leader of Israel’s United Torah Judaism Party, who stepped down on Sunday as health minister.

The premier also reportedly met with Interior Minister Arye Dery, leader of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

At the meeting, participants reportedly agreed to set limits on the amount of work that civil servants would be expected to perform on Saturdays, known as Shabbat in Hebrew.

According to Jewish religious law, the Shabbat is considered a holy day of rest during which all forms of work are expressly forbidden.

Israeli state radio later reported that a raft of regulations would soon be issued -- agreed to by all parties to the dispute -- laying down the exact amount of work to be performed on Saturdays by government employees.

Additional details of the agreement, however, have not yet been disclosed.

On Sunday, Litzman issued a statement in which he attributed his decision to resign to the insistence of the Israeli State Railways Company to utilize Jewish maintenance crews on Saturdays in violation of Jewish religious tenets.

Netanyahu, in a Sunday address before the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) said he was “saddened” by Litzman's resignation.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara