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Labour party divided
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WITH a fast-approaching deadline to make up its mind whether to join forces with Israel's hawkish Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon, the now-leaderless Labour party remained deeply divided over its future yesterday.
While several top Labour officials were due to discuss distribution of portfolios being offered by Sharon, rival party members vehemently opposed to joining a national unity government with the right-wing Likud met to plot their strategy.
The party, devastated by outgoing prime minister Ehud Barak's election rout by Sharon two weeks ago, was thrown further into disarray by Barak's surprise announcement on Tuesday he would after all be quitting politics.
Labour's central committee is to meet on Monday to decide whether to join a broad-based government, and Sharon's Likud party has warned that if there is no decision by then, it will instead form a narrow coalition made up of right-wing and religious parties.
But Sharon, who faces an end of March deadline to form a government, repeated his determination on Wednesday to go ahead with a multi-party coalition even if it takes longer than expected.
Sharon sees a broad-based government as the best way for Israel to confront the nation's deteriorating security situation after five months of blazing Israeli-Palestinian violence and high tensions on other fronts, including Lebanon.
Israeli radio said on Wednesday that Sharon had offered the defence post to former prime minister and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres, although Sharon's office said it could not confirm the report.(SD-Agencies)
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