Israeli minister to leave coalition if peace deal not subjected to referendum

Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennet threatened on Monday that his party would break away from the ruling coalition if any future peace deal with the Palestinians was not subjected to a referendum. Bennet, who leads the ultra-nationalistic Jewish Home party with some settler members, will officially announce the ultimatum during his party's faction meeting, Israeli media reported. The move came after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians will resume their peace talks that halted in late 2010 over the expansion of Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank. According to sources from the Jewish Home party, Bennet will also order his party members to vote against the 2013-14 budget at the end of the month in case a referendum bill does not get legislated immediately. The Jewish Home holds 12 seats in the 120-member Knesset parliament and is a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 68-member coalition. On Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated his stance that any future peace agreement with the Palestinians will be brought to a referendum, in an attempt to appease the right-wing members of his coalition. Israel's chief negotiator and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni expressed her objection to such a move. "Referendum is an evasion of the decision-makers' responsibility," she said, adding "the public elected us to make courageous decisions. When we go to war, we don't ask people, and it should be the same when it comes to a diplomatic settlement."