Israel’s Sharon to Quit Likud, Form New Political Party

24x7updates, India ^ | November 20, 2005 | 24x7updates

[DallasMike]

Jerusalem -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will quit his ruling Likud party to run separately in national elections and will ask Israel’s president to dissolve parliament for a snap poll, a source in Sharon’s office said on Sunday.

Sharon is to visit President Moshe Katsav on Monday and ask him to dissolve the Knesset, said Shariv, the media advisor in Sharon’s office, adding this would set off a process that would lead to elections in 60 days, unless a Knesset (parliament) member succeeds in forming a new coalition within the next three weeks.

Israel began moving toward early elections after Shimon Peres last week lost his bid to remain leader of the Labor Party, Sharon’s coalition partner. Amir Peretz, who now heads Labor, got backing yesterday for Labor’s central committee to bolt.

Although he has about three months to organize a new party, a poll last week showed Sharon is the front runner or tie for first place. A survey of 501 people published in the Yediot Aharonot daily Nov. 18 showed Sharon’s new party winning 28 seats in Israel’s 120- member parliament if elections were held today, cutting the Likud to 18 seats from its current 40.

Olmert, who backed Sharon’s Gaza evacuation, will join Sharon’s new party, the newspaper Haaretz said on its Web site, citing remarks by Olmert yesterday at a dinner sponsored by Ben-Gurion University. The newspaper said that between 12 and 14 Likud lawmakers may join the party as well as outsiders such as former Finance Minister Dan Meridor and for Shin Bet security service chief Avi Dichter, Haaretz said.

[DallasMike]

I posted this earlier but it never drew much attention. I would argue that it's a very big deal for Sharon to drop out of power in Israel, even if he returns to power in a more "moderate" guise.

Stingray:  Conservative Christian News and Commentary

[michaelt]

bump.

[jveritas]

Why is Sharon leaving the Likud? How can he establish a party and create a highly organized infrastructure to compete with Labor and Likud parties? Is this report true?!

[Esther Ruth]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051120/ts_nm/mideast_dc
Israel's Sharon unleashes political earthquake By Allyn Fisher-Ilan
Sun Nov 20, 6:34 PM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will quit his ruling Likud ahead of snap elections and form a new centrist party, to completely reshape Israeli politics and peacemaking, a source in his office said on Sunday.

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Sharon will tear apart the movement he helped found to break from the far-right Likud "rebels" who opposed his withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip and potentially free him to give up more land that Palestinians seek for a state.

But the 77-year-old's gamble is possibly the biggest of a military and political career built on risk-taking and polls indicate it is uncertain he can turn the popularity of the Gaza pullout into electoral victory.

"Ariel Sharon has dropped a bomb," said Israel's Army Radio.

Sharon would go to President Moshe Katsav on Monday and ask him to dissolve parliament and call an early national election, officials said. Sharon had already agreed to bring forward the balllot from November 2006 to February or March.

In theory, Katsav could ask someone else to try to form a government -- an unlikely prospect -- otherwise he would dissolve parliament for an election to be held within 90 days.

Sharon has already begun contacting political allies to join a new party he would head, and Israeli media said 14 of Likud's 40 lawmakers, including five cabinet ministers, have agreed to join him.

He has also been wooing veteran peacemaker and old coalition ally Shimon Peres, whose November 10 defeat as leader of the center-left Labour party by union leader Amir Peretz triggered the political upheaval.

Sharon had been expected to announce his decision by a planned meeting on Monday with members of the parliamentary faction of Likud, which has long since failed to live up to its Hebrew name meaning "cohesion."

PEACEMAKING PLANS

Confidants have said Sharon wants to seize the chance to defeat Labour, then pursue plans to end conflict with the Palestinians without having to battle Likud hardliners.

Earlier, Labour's central committee, encouraged by fiery new leader Peretz, voted overwhelmingly to leave the government it had joined to help Sharon push through the Gaza withdrawal.

"Let the revolution begin," said party official Eitan Cabel as he announced the result of the vote in a show of hands.

Anticipating that Sharon would bolt and cause a leadership challenge, some Likud ministers suggested they would be ready to stand against Sharon's old rival Benjamin Netanyahu, who resigned as finance minister to oppose the Gaza pullout.

Likud hardliners oppose giving up Jewish settlements on any of the land that Israel captured in the 1967 war. For many years Likud -- with Sharon at the forefront -- championed the building of the enclaves.

While ready to go further than many in Likud, Sharon still aims to keep major West Bank settlements and has ruled out talks on statehood unless Palestinians disarm militants waging an uprising.

Palestinians fear Sharon aims to unilaterally set a border along the lines of a barrier being built deep inside the West Bank. Israel says the barrier stops suicide bombers. Palestinians call it a land grab.

BREAKAWAY PARTIES

Labour wants quick peace talks with the Palestinians. Peretz also stands on a platform of rolling back spending cuts and free-market reforms that are credited with helping lift Israel from recession.

Recent polls suggest that a new party, bringing in some Labour members, would leave Sharon neck-and-neck with Peretz with Likud pushed into third place.

The precedent for starting breakaway parties in Israel is not encouraging for Sharon. Founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion failed miserably when he tried, before slipping from the political scene.

"I think in three or four months when elections are held, matters will look much less dramatic," said Yuli Edelstein, one of the Likud lawmakers who opposed the Gaza withdrawal. "There will be the two big parties and Sharon's party, the third in size."

[DallasMike]

Christian???

Yes. Is there any reason that I shouldn't characterize my site as Christian? It's a work in progress, to be sure, but I'm pretty vocal about my Christianity.

[DallasMike]

Labour wants quick peace talks with the Palestinians.

Oh yeah, like that's a great idea. The first minute "peace talks" start the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will look like the 4th of July with all of the terrorists blowing themselves up.

[Alouette]

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.

Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.

[DallasMike]

...Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.

But your name, Alouette, eet eez so like zee French, no?

[Salem]

---

If you'd like to be on or off this
Christian Supporters of Israel ping list,
please FR mail me ~
    
MikeFromFR ~
There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had
spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. (Joshua 21:45)
Letter To The President In Support Of Israel ~
'Final Solution,' Phase 2 ~
Warnings ~

"Palestine is the wrong name for their State. It should be called Anarchy."—FReeper sgtbono2002
"Then let's wait and see what the Arabs do after they take Gaza. There's nothing like Arab reality to break up a Jewish fantasy."—FReeper Noachian
A student told his professor he was going to "Palestine" to "fight for freedom, peace and justice,"—Orwellian leftist code words that mean "murder Jews."
The Nature Of Bruce ~

[Allan]

A Prime Minister resigning from his party
in order to start a new one
while still in office.

Does anyone know of a historical precedent for this?

I can't think of any.

[DallasMike]

Oh, I see. You're right, of course -- there's the occasional tidbit that would only interest Christians but it's not necessarily news about Christians. If the Antichrist declares himself publicly though, I'll probably follow the story pretty closely.

[Esther Ruth]

This ain't no Christian news. Get my point now?
I'm a Christian myself.
***
Anything regarding Israel and God's Chosen, the Jewish People, the apple of His eye - this is always Christian News - Yes?

[montag813]

Peretz also stands on a platform of rolling back spending cuts and free-market reforms that are credited with helping lift Israel from recession.

That sounds just dandy!

[Cicero]

There have been dozens of sources for this news. In one of them, Sharon was quoted as saying that it won't happen until it happens. It's his privilege to change his mind.

I wonder if this whole business may be an attempt to shock the party and get them to beg him to stay on?

I guess the next day or two will tell.

[Alouette]

Mon nom, c'est trés comme un hélicoptère que on dit, "kick derierre!"

[EternalVigilance]

This is kinda like the Teddy Roosevelt Bull Moose strategy.

Doomed to failure, too...

Sharon is finished.