Sharon Survives Non-confidence Vote Amid Suicide Blast

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 05, 2002

Sharon Survives Non-confidence Vote Amid Suicide Blast

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Monday evening survived the non-confidence vote in the Knesset, or parliament, winning time to form a narrow government.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Monday evening survived the non-confidence vote in the Knesset, or parliament, winning time to form a narrow government.

The Knesset rejected three non-confidence motions by opposition parties and approved the appointment of Shaul Mofaz as new defense minister. The controversial former chief of staff of army was then sworn in.

Minutes ahead of the Knesset voting, a Palestinian suicide bombing attack hit the central coastal town of Kfar Sava, killing two Israelis and injuring at least 32 people.

The radical Palestinian group of Islamic Jihad (holy war) has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Earlier in the day, two Palestinian militants from the Hamas group were killed in a car explosion near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinians blamed Israel for the targeted murdering, saying Israeli troops killed six other Palestinians the Gaza Strip.

While the Palestinian-Israel tensions continue, Sharon is yet toget his government out of an unprecedented crisis after the Labor Party quit the coalition last week.

With the Israeli government being reduced to a minority of 55 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Sharon needs to court right wingers for support of a narrow government to step over the crisis.

Before Monday's voting in parliament, Sharon's aides were reported to have made progress in talks with the far-right NationalUnion-Yisrael Beiteinu party bloc, which holds seven Knesset seats,enough to help Sharon recapture a majority and defeat the non-confidence motions.

Without the seven votes, the opposition parties actually failed to form the necessary majority in parliament to topple Sharon's government.

Although Sharon succeeded in wooing the bloc against the non-confidence vote, its leader Avigdor Lieberman insists the party will not join a narrow rightist government unless the prime minister promises to establish a rightist-nationalist coalition after general elections.

"If the prime minister is unwilling to change the government's policy platform and nothing substantive is in practice, why should we join the government?" Lieberman said Monday.

The party bloc withdrew from the government in March to protest what it eyed as feeble policy of Sharon's coalition against the Palestinian National Authority and its leader Yasser Arafat.

Sharon is also inviting former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahuto take the portfolio of foreign affairs, which was left vacant by Labor Party's veteran diplomat Shimon Peres.

In an unexpected move on Sunday, Netanyahu, also Sharon's main rival for the leadership in the Likud party, agreed in principle totake the offer.

The famous hawkish politician, however, set a key precondition that Sharon agree to hold early elections and that their cooperation continue after the elections.

In an interview with Israel TV Sunday evening, Netanyahu furtherdefined his demands, which includes the removal of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the outlining of the future security barrier between Israel and the Palestinians, plus a pledge not to allow Palestinians to establish an independent state.

Sharon's faction in the same Likud party was provoked by Netanyahu's remarks, which they dismissed as nothing more than "political trickery."

They charged that Netanyahu "is purporting to act in the Likud'sname, but is actually promoting the demise of the Likud government,instead of helping to stabilize it."

"If we want to call early elections, we don't need Netanyahu ...we can do by ourselves," an aide to Sharon said, adding that the prime minister will go ahead with his efforts to form a narrow coalition.

Sharon himself described the call for the early elections as irresponsible when addressing the Likud party Monday, although he praised Netanyahu's agreement in principle to join the government.

"I hope Netanyahu will ultimately choose to join the current government on the basis I said at the beginning," he said, while stressing three guidelines of his own for cooperation.

He defined the three guidelines as guarantee for coalition, strategic agreement with the United States and the budget framework.

Sharon's close aide, Environment Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, predicted that despite their differences Netanyahu would in the endjoin Sharon's cabinet.

"This partnership naturally doesn't really appeal to either of them... but in the end both of them will find themselves in the government," he said.

Both Netanyahu and Mofaz are considered as the super hawkish, who advocate tough policy against the Palestinians, including the expulsion of Palestinian leader Arafat.

The Palestinian leader has warned that more than two years of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could worsen, should the Israeli government become more right-wing.

While Sharon is busy working to form a narrow government, the Labor Party chaired by former defense minister Binyamin Ben Eliezeris preparing itselft for possible early elections.

The Labor chairman has persuaded the Shinui Party and Meretz Party, which controls a total of 16 Knesset seats, to agree on pushing for early elections by March 11, 2003.

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