Israel's Labour Party votes to pull out of Sharon government

Israel’s Labour Party tonight voted to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s coalition government, virtually assuring early general elections in March.

The decision came in a show of hands at a Labour Party convention in Tel Aviv, following the wishes of the new party leader, Amir Peretz, who collected letters of resignation from the Labour Cabinet Ministers last week.

In his first campaign speech, Peretz, addressing the convention, emphasised domestic economic issues.

Peretz, a fiery union leader, said Sharon’s government had deepened poverty and ”humiliated” the poor and immigrants.

He called on Sharon’s Likud Party supporters from Israel’s lower classes to switch to Labour.

“Come join the new social pact,” he said, “You are not abandoning Likud. Likud has abandoned you.”

Peretz was speaking at a party convention expected to approve withdrawal of Labour from Sharon’s ruling coalition.

In a brief reference to the traditional election decider in Israel – security and the Palestinian issue – Peretz said he favoured a united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and opposed permitting Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.