Sharon calls for January elections

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU was approved as Israel's foreign minister yesterday, bringing him into the Cabinet of the man he seeks to succeed as prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

Opinion polls gave Sharon the edge in their rivalry and also suggested Sharon's right-wing Likud party would make strong gains over the moderate Labour Party in the January election that Sharon called a day earlier, sending Israel into a turbulent campaign.

Before the general vote, both parties will hold primaries to choose a leader and candidate for prime minister.

In Likud, Sharon leads the former premier Netanyahu by 44% to 38%, according to a poll by the Dahaf

institute published in the Yediot Ahronot daily. Despite the rivalry, Netanyahu agreed to Sharon's request to serve as foreign minister in the caretaker government, and the appointment was approved by parliament yesterday, in a 61-31 vote, with five abstentions.

Sharon's offer and Netanyahu's acceptance have been portrayed as part of a complex game between the two, with each trying to win points with Likud voters for seemingly placing the national interest ahead of their rivalry.

Opposition legislators called the appointment a farce, saying Netanyahu will be preoccupied with primaries.

"Who actually believes Netanyahu will deal with Israel's foreign policy?" said Ofir Pines-Paz, head of the Labour Party faction in parliament.

No date has been set for the Likud primary. Sharon wants to hold it as quickly as possible, perhaps by late November, while Netanyahu wants more time in order to campaign among party members.

In Labour's November 19 contest, party chief Binyamin Ben-Eliezer faces two dovish candidates, Haifa mayor Amram Mitzna and legislator Haim Ramon.

Mitzna, who leads the trio in polls among party members, said yesterday that as party chief he would not lead Labour into another coalition with Likud. The Dahaf poll indicated that Sharon has the best chances of becoming prime minister. Under Israel's electoral system, voters choose a party, not a candidate. The party leader first able to form a stable coalition is named prime minister. Another survey by the Geocartographia agency showed 34% of respondents preferred Sharon as prime minister, 29% favoured Netanyahu, 15% chose Mitzna, while 3% each gave their backing to Ben-Eliezer and Ramon. Sixteen percent either had no opinion or said they didn't like any of the candidates.

The vote is expected to be held on January 28. A central campaign issue will be how to approach the Palestinians. Mitzna, for example, proposes restarting peace talks on establishing a Palestinian state despite two years of violence.

Netanyahu on Tuesday reiterated his view Arafat should be expelled possibly during a US strike against Iraq.

"I think the most appropriate time (to exile Arafat) will be when Saddam Hussein is thrown out," Netanyahu told Israel TV. "I think that will be possible."

Responding to Netanyahu, Arafat said yesterday: "No one can deport me from my homeland . . . they have to

remember they are dealing with Yasser Arafat."

Arafat called on Netanyahu to resume peace talks, noting that as prime minister he negotiated interim peace agreements with the Palestinians.

Palestinian militant groups could influence the vote's outcome. If there is an increase in bombings and shootings, the Israeli electorate is expected to lurch even further to the right. A lull in violence could help Labour.

Islamic militant group Hamas said it would continue carrying out attacks.