Defence Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday he was leaving his struggling Labour party and setting up a new centrist party called “Independence,” in a move set to strengthen the Israeli government.

The surprise decision will see Mr Barak and four other deputies leaving the strife-torn faction as the result of a “shift to the left” within the party which he has led since 2007.

But with Mr Barak’s new party set to remain in government, the move looked likely to stabilise and even strengthen the largely rightwing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have presented a request to the Knesset to recognise us as a new faction that will be called ‘Independence’ ... which will be centrist, Zionist and democratic,” Mr Barak said at a news conference broadcast live on Israeli radio.

Shortly afterwards, the split in the Labour party was approved by the parliament’s House Committee, with 11 in favour, three against and one abstention.

Mr Barak’s announcement was widely seen as coordinated in advance with Mr Netanyahu in a move which would most likely “strengthen” the premier, army radio said, pointing out he can now count on a “stable majority” of 66 MPs in his 120-member coalition.

In return, Mr Netanyahu had agreed to allow Barak and the other two senior party members to continue holding their ministerial posts, army radio said.

“The State of Israel is facing tests which are not simple, at the centre of which is the political process with the Palestinians and within the region, security tests and complex challenges regarding the economy and society,” Mr Barak said.

“We are ready to face them.”

Israeli commentators said the decision was a tactical move by Barak aimed at protecting his position as defence minister and remaining in the ruling coalition following increasing pressure from Labour deputies to quit over the impasse in peace talks with the Palestinians.

Until now, Labour has been the third-largest party in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, with 13 seats in the 120-member Knesset.