TEL AVIV -- The Israeli government said yesterday it plans to sell its national flag carrier, El Al Israel Airlines, to the public, keeping only a so-called "golden share."

The government plans initially to sell 51 percent of the carrier and the rest at a later date. A statement issued by the Israeli transport ministry did not say when the first tranche would be sold, but the Israeli daily newspaper Telegraph reported that the government intended to sell the initial 51 percent by year-end.

Yisrael Kessar, the Israeli transport minister, said in a statement that the state will get a golden share. The statement wasn't specific about the rights that would go with that share.