Kadima secures Israeli majority

Olmert has promised to form a government as soon as possible

Israel's ultra-religious Jewish party, Shas, has voted to join the coalition government of interim PM Ehud Olmert.

The move was agreed at a late-night meeting by the ruling Rabbis, a party spokesman said.

With the Shas on board, Mr Olmert now controls 67 of parliament's 120 seats - enough to form a workable coalition.

But the deal came only after Mr Olmert agreed they would not be obliged to back the evacuation of West Bank settlements, Haaretz newspaper reports.

Mr Olmert has made clear his determination to dismantle isolated Jewish settlements in the West Bank and set permanent borders for Israel by 2010.

COALITION (revised 30 April) Kadima: 29 seats, centrist Labour: 19 seats, centre-left Pensioners: 7 seats, single-issue Shas: 12 seats, ultra-Orthodox Possible partners: Torah Judaism: 6 seats, ultra-Orthodox Meretz: 5 seats, left-wing

The Kadima Party has already signed a coalition agreement with the Labour Party and the Pensioners Party, giving Mr Olmert control of 55 seats.

He is seeking to form a broad coalition with more than 80 seats, and is still in talks with the ultra-orthodox United Torah Judaism party and the left-wing Meretz party.

Israeli radio said a new government could be sworn in on Thursday.