TEL AVIV, Israel, March 22 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Tuesday overcame an obstacle that would have toppled his government next week, but the real test is yet to come.
The government will fall and new elections will be held if the Knesset fails to approve the government's 2005 budget by March 31. Hardliners in Sharon's Likud faction, who oppose the planned withdrawal from Palestinian territories, have threatened to vote against the budget.
The Knesset Finance Committee is preparing the bill for its second and third readings. An agreement reached Monday in the Likud faction provided that committee members who plan to vote against the bill will be replaced. That was done and Coalition Chairman Gideon Saar said so far the committee approved all the clauses that came up for a vote.
Sharon still does not have a majority in the Knesset but some opposition parties are expected to support the bill or abstain and thus help it pass.
