DISGRUNTLED members of Mr Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition gave the Israeli Prime Minister a hint yesterday of the trouble they intend to cause if, as seems likely, he and the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, finally reach a deal on Israel's military withdrawal from Hebron.
The most extreme right wing faction in the Knesset, Moledet, which campaigns on a platform of seeking to "persuade" Palestinians to leave their homes in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem for other Arab countries, tabled a motion of no confidence in Mr Netanyahu. Only Moledet's two Knesset members supported the motion, but more than a dozen backbench government politicians either absented themselves or abstained, as did four ministers from Mr Netanyahu's cabinet.
The coalition, nevertheless defeated the motion by a margin of 47 to two; the moderate Labour opposition members departed from the customary opposition practice of voting against the government and chose, instead, to abstain.
What will have been worrying for Mr Netanyahu was the sight of all the members of the National Religious Party walking out of the Knesset chamber in a silent protest as the vote was tabled. The NRP, the party most closely allied with the settlers, is a crucial component in Mr Netanyahu's coalition. But that alliance appears to be disintegrating, and could well collapse altogether once the Hebron deal is implemented.
Israeli and Palestinian officials last night again predicted that the deal was only hours away - and that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Arafat could well be initiating it at a modest ceremony today. Certainly both sides do appear to be genuinely working to complete the accord. Mr Netanyahu has evidently taken the strategic decision to alienate some of his hardline supporters, secure in the knowledge that Labour will give him the Knesset backing to stay in power provided he moves forward with peace efforts.
The Prime Minister has been attempting to mollify right wing critics in the past day or two, assuring them of his commitment to a Jewish presence in Hebron "forever", and appearing to toughen his position against independent Palestinian statehood. But his main preoccupation this week has been with the local trade unions, which followed partial work stoppages on Sunday with a full scale strike yesterday closed the banks, the stock exchange, radio stations and post offices, leaving other public services on skeleton staffs.
The dispute was ostensibly called over proposed tax increases and other budgetary moves that will hit poorer Israelis. But there is also a political dimension the Histradut trade union federation is affiliated with the Labour Party, and at least some of the anger over the budget stems from the realisation that scarce government funds are being earmarked to finance Mr Netanyahu's recently announced package of monetary incentives to West Bank settlers.