Israel’s Peres Gives Up Office

Prime Minister Shimon Peres resigned today, fulfilling a promise he made two years ago to swap jobs with his political rival, Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, in an unprecedented power-sharing agreement.

Hours before the resignation, both men underscored the fragility of the next government.

Peres, leader of the Labor Alignment party, will head a caretaker government until Shamir, head of the conservative Likud Bloc, is sworn in as prime minister next week.

The switch is part of the September, 1984, agreement, reached after an election stalemate, to form a coalition government.

Hours before his resignation, Peres told Israel radio that the Shamir government will not last if it fails to pursue the Middle East peace initiatives he has begun.

‘May Endanger Itself’

If Shamir’s government “does not keep to the (peace) policy guidelines, it may endanger itself,” Peres said.

Shamir told Army radio that he will stick to the coalition accord, which calls for efforts to persuade Jordan to enter into peace talks.

Asked what will happen if Jordan’s King Hussein makes proposals the Likud Bloc cannot accept, Shamir said: “If the things will be so important to Labor that they will justify breaking up the unity government, then the government will fall.”