Israel's political crisis deepens

JERUSALEM - Israel's march towards what appears to be an inevitable early election gained speed on Sunday after new Labour Party leader Amir Peretz threatened to act quickly to bring down Ariel Sharon's government.

Peretz's call for Sharon to meet him immediately to discuss a date for a new national ballot, or face a Labour move in the coming week to end their political alliance, was rejected out of hand by a top aide to the prime minister.

The political upheaval following Peretz's surprise ousting of elder statesman Shimon Peres in a Labour party leadership vote is likely to put any resumption of violence-stalled peacemaking with the Palestinians even more firmly on hold.

"With all due respect to politics, nothing can be done before Thursday," Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said, referring to Peretz's demand on Saturday to meet Sharon earlier.

Peretz, in a television interview, said Labour "may act to topple the government on Wednesday" in the absence of a meeting with the prime minister before then.

The opposition National Religious Party is to present a bill on Wednesday for the dissolution of parliament. Its passage, which requires Labour's support, would set the ball rolling towards an election as early as February.

In any case, Peretz has said he will propose to Sharon an election in March or in May, advancing a vote not due until November 2006.

A pledge to leave Sharon's government over what Peretz has called its neglect of Israel's poor was a centrepiece of the 53-year-old trade union leader's campaign to replace Peres, 82.

"Looking at the prime minister's timetable, I remind everyone there are commitments related to the anniversary (of the assassination) of Yitzhak Rabin," Maimon told Army Radio.

"Ariel Sharon is not getting excited over Amir Peretz's ultimatums," he added in a separate interview with Israel's YNet website.

Sharon is due to attend a series of memorial events marking the 10th anniversary of Rabin's killing by an ultranationalist Jew opposed to his interim peace deals with the Palestinians.

In a major show of strength by Israel's left, a crowd estimated by organisers at around 200,000 gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to remember Rabin in the square where he was shot.

Holding signs with slogans such as "The path to peace will never be killed", the crowd stood for a moment's silence and sang memorial songs.

Former US President Bill Clinton joined dozens of foreign dignitaries at the rally. Clinton, who helped broker peace Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, said he had loved Rabin, who he had always called a "chaver", Hebrew for friend.

"There has not been a week in the last 10 years where I have not thought of him and missed him," Clinton said. "However many years he had left, he gave them up on this spot for you and your future," he told the crowd.

- REUTERS