"A short while ago I handed the government my resignation," Pines-Paz told a news conference after the cabinet approved the appointment of Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman as minister in charge of strategic affairs.
"From the moment the Israeli government decided to join ranks with Avigdor Lieberman and Yisrael Beitenu, which hold a platform with racist appearance... I had no alternative but to stick to my position," he said in his Jerusalem office.
Pines-Paz was the only minister in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government who voted against Lieberman's entry to the government.
After announcing his resignation, Pines-Paz also declared he intended to "contend the (Labour) party leadership in May 2007 and to lead it back to the right track".

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006