Acting Likud leader leaves party to join Sharon

Acting Likud leader Tzachi Hanegbi today announced that he is leaving the party to join the new centrist bloc of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Hanegbi’s departure was the latest blow to Likud, which has plummeted in opinion polls since Sharon’s departure last month.

Sharon said leaving the hard-line Likud to form the new centrist Kadima party would give him more flexibility in pursuing a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Hanegbi, who has held a variety of Cabinet posts, made his announcement at a news conference in Tel Aviv.