MIDDLE EAST: Israelis will vote in an early general election next spring following an agreement between prime minister Ariel Sharon and Amir Peretz, the newly-elected leader of the Labor Party.
The announcement of an early ballot has been inevitable since Mr Peretz took over as Labor leader last week and pledged to make good on his promise to withdraw the party from the ruling coalition.
With Mr Sharon's rightist Likud Party still riven over last summer's Gaza evacuation, the support of Labor was essential to maintain a stable parliamentary majority.
Following a 20-minute meeting yesterday Mr Peretz said Knesset elections would take place between the end of February and end of March - nine months before the government's term ends next November.
He said he hoped the final date will be settled before Monday, when a Bill to dissolve parliament will be brought for a preliminary reading.
Mr Sharon said yesterday that he preferred elections to be held in February to "prevent diplomatic stalemate".
Yesterday's meeting was the first between the two leaders since Mr Peretz's unexpected victory over veteran politician Shimon Peres eight days ago.
Opinion polls show that Mr Peretz's triumph has given Labor a big lift, but not enough to overtake a Likud party led by Mr Sharon.
The announcement of an early election brings to an end a period of political turmoil which saw Mr Sharon battling assaults on his leadership from right-wing members of his own party still smarting over his unilateral move to withdraw troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip last summer.
Labor joined Mr Sharon's coalition last January to help the prime minister get parliamentary approval for his controversial Gaza plan.
The vehemence of the opposition to that initiative was underlined with the discovery yesterday of death threats against Mr Sharon in graffiti in a ladies' toilet in the parliament, reportedly written by two girls aged 12 and 14.
It is not yet clear whether Mr Sharon's chief rival, the hardline Benjamin Netanyahu, will challenge him for the Likud leadership in party primaries ahead of the general election.
Mr Netanyahu's ratings have dropped since he failed to topple Mr Sharon in a Likud ballot six weeks ago.
Netanyahu resigned as finance minister last August in protest at the Gaza "disengagement", which he and the other so-called Likud "rebels" claimed would increase Palestinian terrorism.
There have been recent indications that Mr Peretz's victory has prompted many of the "rebels" to close ranks in the face of the reinvigorated opposition challenge.
While there is still speculation that Mr Sharon might leave the fractured Likud and form a new party, analysts now see this as unlikely, particularly as new polls show he would comfortably win any leadership race against Mr Netanyahu.
One option to avoid a leadership competition would be for Mr Sharon to promise to bring Mr Netanyahu on board as his deputy in any future administration. However, such a move would be very unpopular with senior Likud loyalists.
Meanwhile, two Palestinian militants from the military wing of the ruling Fatah Party were shot dead by Israeli troops near the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday.