Ehud Barak quits Israel's Labour to form new party.

Labour leader Barak served as Israel's prime
minister between 1999 and 2001

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says he
is resigning as head of the Labour party to
form his own faction.

Mr Barak is heading a breakaway group -
Independence - which includes four other Labour
MPs, reports say.
Correspondents say the move strengthens Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing
coalition, as it allows Mr Barak's party to remain in
government.
Labour is due to vote on whether to quit the
coalition over Mr Netanyahu's handling of the
Mid-East peace process.
But Mr Barak's surprise move pre-empts that
decision, due next month, suggesting he still
believes Mr Netanyahu is genuine about seeking
peace with the Palestinians, says the BBC's Jon
Donnison in Jerusalem.
The fledgling peace talks broke down late last year
over Israel's refusal to renew a freeze on Jewish
settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
New start
"We have presented a request to the Knesset to
recognise us as a new faction that will be called
Independence," Mr Barak told a press conference
that was carried live on Israeli radio and
television.
"[The new party] will be centrist, Zionist and
democratic," he said.
There have been tensions within the Labour party
- a key member of Israel's ruling coalition - for
months. A party official said four Labour
parliamentarians would be joining Mr Barak's new
faction.
Israeli TV and radio stations said that Agriculture
Minister Shalom Simchon and deputy defence
minister Matan Vilnai were among those who
would join the Independence party.
Israeli army radio said Mr Netanyahu was aware
of the initiative, and had pledged to allow the
defence minister and the other two senior party
members to continue in their ministerial posts.
The Labour movement was central to the
creation of Israel in 1948 and had long dominated
Israeli politics since then.
However, it placed fourth during the 2009
elections, behind the opposition Kadima party, Mr
Netanyahu's Likud and the ultra-nationalist Yisrael
Beitenu of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
It is currently a key member of the ruling
coalition, with 13 MPs prior to Monday's split. Mr
Netanyahu's coalition currently has a majority,
with 74 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
Analysts say Labour's eight remaining members,
political doves who are in favour of getting peace
talks back on track, are likely to quit the
government.
Their departures could leave Mr Netanyahu with
66 seats in the 120-seat parliament, a smaller but
more stable majority.


Source: Http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12204321