Veteran Israeli peacemaker Shimon Peres' Labour Party voted on Tuesday in favour of joining with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's right-wing Likud in a governing coalition dedicated to carrying out a Gaza withdrawal. Party officials said Labour's Central Committee approved a partnership with Likud, conditional on Peres' appointment as Sharon's second deputy prime minister.
Peres cannot assume the post until a law limiting a prime minister to a single deputy is amended, a process that could delay the swearing in of a new government for several weeks.