(Haaretz).Defense Minister Ehud Barak intends to impose sanctions on MKs who violate coalition discipline, sources close to Barak said Wednesday.
The sanctions are said to include being barred from submitting bills and losing the right to address the plenum.
Five lawmakers who opposed Labor joining the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - Eitan Cabel, Shelly Yachimovich, Yuli Tamir and Amir Peretz - have already signaled to Barak in two important votes that they are not bound by his decisions. All five abstained from the vote approving the new government and all except for Yachimovish, who voted in favor, abstained from the vote on the biennial state budget.
If any sanctions are imposed, it will be the job of the new party whip, MK Daniel Ben Simon, to do so. Ben Simon initally sided with the five rebels but realigned himself with Barak after the Labor central committee approved the party's entry into the coalition.
Barak is also said to be planning to amend the party bylaws so as to increase the authority of the chairman. This could include getting rid of the position of party secretary general, a post presently occupied by Cabel
