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Sharon secures majority coalition
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The centrist, secular Shinui party has agreed to join Ariel Sharon's coalition government, giving the Israeli prime minister enough votes for a majority in the Knesset, a top-ranking Shinui official said. Yoseph Paritzki, Shinui deputy leader, said the party had secured a commitment from Sharon to negotiate with the Palestinians before agreeing to join the coalition. He added that once serious negotiations are under way Israel would need to make major concessions and that the ultimate solution would be two states -- Israel and Palestine. With Shinui's 15 seats, Sharon's coalition now has 61 seats in the 120-member parliament. "I think we're going to be the left marker ... of this government," Paritzki said. "We are a centrist party. The government is quite hawkish and we will try our best to put it in the center and somewhere to the left." The Shinui agreement comes a day after Sharon's Likud party reached a coalition accord with the hawkish National Religious Party (NRP). Likud has 40 seats in the Knesset, while the NRP has six. The Labor Party, Sharon's former partners in a unity government, has 19 seats. Sharon spoke with Labor leader Amram Mitzna by telephone Sunday morning to update him on the details of the agreement. Last fall, Labor dropped out of the coalition, which also included the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and the National Unity or Yisrael Beiteinu party, a nationalist party that favors the removal of Palestinians. Labor left in a dispute over the prime minister's budget, but the party also had serious differences with Sharon's peace-making strategies. Sharon has courted Labor for a new coalition following his victory in the January 28 election. But the NRP's stance backing Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories and opposing Palestinian statehood is diametrically opposed to Labor's desire to disband the settlements and immediately resume peace talks. Sharon still has a month to present his government to the Knesset, meaning it is still possible for other parties to join the coalition. A total of 13 parties hold seats in the Knesset.
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