Political shock in Isreal
Discussion
Sharon has quit Likud to form a more moderate centre right party. Quite a shock for those who have been condemning him as a warmonger I imagine
BBC Article
Israel's Sharon quits Likud party
Moshe Katsav said he would act soon on Mr Sharon's request
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is forming a "new national liberal" political party, leaving the right-wing Likud party he helped to found.
"Likud in its current format cannot lead Israel to its national aims," Mr Sharon said in a televised address.
He staked out claims to political ground on both the right and the left, mentioning both security and poverty.
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has already approved the first step towards dissolving itself.
Legislators say the three more ballots needed to formally dissolve the Knesset could take place by Tuesday evening.
Mr Sharon had already asked President Moshe Katsav to dissolve parliament and call a snap election.
President Katsav said on Monday night it would be held not later than 28 March.
Mr Sharon and Labour leader Amir Peretz are understood to have agreed earlier in the week to bring forward elections from November 2006 to either February or March.
The legislators' vote on Monday evening may be an attempt to seize control of the election timetable from Mr Sharon, analysts say.
Mr Sharon's move redraws the political map of the country, the BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem says.
At the next election voters will be presented with three main choices - the Likud party on the right, the Labour party on the left, and Mr Sharon's new movement in the centre, our correspondent says.
Mr Sharon listed peace with the Palestinians and Israeli security as among the main goals of his party, tentatively called National Responsibility.
The prime minister is said to have the backing of 14 of Likud's 40 MPs, including five cabinet ministers.
Getting 14 legislators together would give him the right to claim a share of Likud party funding.
The Knesset has 120 seats.
Mr Sharon upset many hardliners within Likud over his disengagement plan, carried out earlier this year, under which Israel unilaterally withdrew its settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
On Monday night he said there was no plan for further unilateral disengagement from the West Bank.
"We have the big settlement blocs that will remain forever in the hands of Israel and will be territorially connected to Israel," he said.
"There is no additional disengagement plan - there is the roadmap," he said, referring to the US-backed peace plan.
After Sharon
Uzi Landau, a senior Likud figure opposed to the Gaza withdrawal, said his party would "do whatever possible" to fight any further pullout.
He said Mr Sharon's departure represented a "new hope for Likud with clean politics".
BBC Article
Israel's Sharon quits Likud party
Moshe Katsav said he would act soon on Mr Sharon's request
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is forming a "new national liberal" political party, leaving the right-wing Likud party he helped to found.
"Likud in its current format cannot lead Israel to its national aims," Mr Sharon said in a televised address.
He staked out claims to political ground on both the right and the left, mentioning both security and poverty.
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has already approved the first step towards dissolving itself.
Legislators say the three more ballots needed to formally dissolve the Knesset could take place by Tuesday evening.
Mr Sharon had already asked President Moshe Katsav to dissolve parliament and call a snap election.
President Katsav said on Monday night it would be held not later than 28 March.
Mr Sharon and Labour leader Amir Peretz are understood to have agreed earlier in the week to bring forward elections from November 2006 to either February or March.
The legislators' vote on Monday evening may be an attempt to seize control of the election timetable from Mr Sharon, analysts say.
Mr Sharon's move redraws the political map of the country, the BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem says.
At the next election voters will be presented with three main choices - the Likud party on the right, the Labour party on the left, and Mr Sharon's new movement in the centre, our correspondent says.
Mr Sharon listed peace with the Palestinians and Israeli security as among the main goals of his party, tentatively called National Responsibility.
The prime minister is said to have the backing of 14 of Likud's 40 MPs, including five cabinet ministers.
Getting 14 legislators together would give him the right to claim a share of Likud party funding.
The Knesset has 120 seats.
Mr Sharon upset many hardliners within Likud over his disengagement plan, carried out earlier this year, under which Israel unilaterally withdrew its settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
On Monday night he said there was no plan for further unilateral disengagement from the West Bank.
"We have the big settlement blocs that will remain forever in the hands of Israel and will be territorially connected to Israel," he said.
"There is no additional disengagement plan - there is the roadmap," he said, referring to the US-backed peace plan.
After Sharon
Uzi Landau, a senior Likud figure opposed to the Gaza withdrawal, said his party would "do whatever possible" to fight any further pullout.
He said Mr Sharon's departure represented a "new hope for Likud with clean politics".
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