``I'm fed up with politics,'' Neeman was quoted as saying in the report, which added that he had already submitted a resignation letter to Netanyahu, but that the prime minister had asked him to stay on until after the visit from US President Bill Clinton that ended Tuesday. Neeman is away on holiday in Switzerland and could not be reached for comment and the report was not officially confirmed by the government. Neeman was said to be irritated by difficulties in getting Netanyahu's fragile government to approve certain budgetary measures ahead of the presentation next year.

The news comes just 10 days after popular ex-foreign minister David Levy announced he would not join the Netanyahu government, reportedly because he was not offered complete freedom with the Financeminister's portfolio. Levy was said to covet the post but declined after Netanyahu insisted on keeping most of the power over economic policy.

``I am not going into government to implement a policy I disapprove of,'' Levy said earlier this month after meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss returning to the government.

Levy resigned from the Netanyahu government in January and launched an angry broadside against the Prime Minister, whom he accused of stalling the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and neglecting Israel's poor with his economic policies. The resignation of Neeman, a longtime Netanyahu ally, is likely to further weaken the government, which holds just a one-vote majority in parliament and faces a no confidence vote next week.

Right-wingers angry over Netanyahu's concessions to the Palestinians in the Wye River agreement have threatened to topple the government if it goes ahead with further troop withdrawals from the West Bank as called for under the accord. Reuters reports sayNetanyahu is likely to decide soon whether to call early elections, according to a senior aide. ``The Prime Minister will decide whether the coalition will continue as it is my impression is that it can continue and become even more stable or whether he wants to call for an election,'' Netanyahu's communications chief David Bar-Illan said.

``That will be purely his decision and it should come in the near future''.

Israeli politicians of the left and right have predicted that the only way Netanyahu can keep right-wingers opposed to ceding West Bank land to the Palestinians from toppling his coalition is to scrap the deal.