Israel PM invites Labour to talks

Ariel Sharon says the world is waiting for Israel to pull out of Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has invited the opposition Labour Party to begin talks on forming a new national coalition government.

Mr Sharon phoned Labour leader Shimon Peres on Friday morning, after winning backing for the move in a vote by his governing Likud Party.

Analysts say Labour's likely inclusion in government would keep Mr Sharon's plans to evacuate Gaza on track.

Mr Sharon needed new coalition partners after sacking Shinui from government.

Labour still has to agree on terms for joining an alliance with Likud and suffers its own internal rifts, correspondents say.

But the BBC's Alan Johnston in Jerusalem says all the signs show the negotiations will go fairly smoothly and Labour will join the government.

I hope we should be able to move ahead in the direction of peace - it's not simple, it's not easy, but it is promising and the right step Shimon Peres Labour leader Israel "determined" Q&A: Gaza plan

Mr Peres said on Friday that nothing was more important than achieving a successful outcome to the coalition talks.

"I hope we should be able to move ahead in the direction of peace," he told the Associated Press news agency. "It's not simple. It's not easy, but it is promising and the right step."

The talks are expected to start at the beginning of next week, after Labour leaders met to discuss the move on Saturday evening.

Peace hope

Mr Sharon also spoke on Friday to the leaders of two ultra-Orthodox parties.

Shas and United Torah Judaism are being invited to join the government as well. Likud members see them as an important counterweight to any left-wing influence from Labour.

Many Israelis and settlers have protested against the disengagement plan

The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, expressed the hope that the next government, if agreed, would bring a new lease of life to the peace process.

"We hope the formation of a new Israeli government will lead to the reviving of a meaningful peace process," Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat said.

In a separate development, AP quoted Israeli officials as saying Israel was prepared to hand over security responsibilities in northern Gaza to the Palestinians, in what they said was a test of their ability to crack down on militants.

Thursday's Likud vote revoked a ban, issued in August, on a coalition with Labour.

Weak position

Of the 3,000 members of Likud's Central Committee, about 62% voted in favour of the move.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Jerusalem says that while many Likud members are not happy about sharing power with Labour, most want to avoid early elections that would be triggered if no new coalition was formed.

HAVE YOUR SAY A governing coalition would considerably undermine the spirit of democracy in Israel Kwame, New York Send us your comments

The government is in a weak position, controlling just a third of seats in parliament, the Knesset, after losing three coalition partners.

The move may signal at least a pause in the crises that have rocked Israel's government for the past six months, our correspondent says.

Labour supports disengagement from Gaza, hoping it can be turned from a unilateral move into an integral part of a new peace process.

Mr Sharon's plan for Gaza would see Israel remove thousands of Jewish settlers - and the troops that protect them - from the Gaza Strip while retaining overall control over the area's borders.