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Sharon's new government leans right, seeks 'path of peace'
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The new coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took power early Friday, following a 66-48 vote by the 120-member Knesset. Saying no to two key Palestinian demands for peace, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presented his newest coalition government to the Israeli Knesset Thursday, saying the patchwork Cabinet is "the best possible government" for the future of the Jewish state. Sharon's right-leaning government includes Likud rival and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, moved from his former role as foreign minister to finance minister, a post he had turned down earlier this week. Netanyahu, who holds a harder line on the Palestinian issue than does Sharon, replaces Silvan Shalom, who in turn takes over as foreign minister. As finance minister, Netanyahu will face the daunting task of improving Israel's recession-hit economy, which Sharon said would be aided by a government-backed push to increase immigration and a restructuring of some of the tax structures. Israel's security and its right to defend itself are the key issues for his government, Sharon said, repeating his oft-stated position that no peace talks can take place until Palestinian authorities stop the violence that plagues the region. "First, we must have an end to terrorism and incitement and there must be profound reforms in the Palestinian Authority," he said. "A diplomatic process that will lead to a genuine peace must be based on learning of lessons from the failure of the diplomatic vision that was tried in the last decade." Palestinian demands rejectedSharon flatly rejected two Palestinian demands -- that Palestinians who fled Israel when that nation was formed be allowed to return to their homes -- the so-called "right of return" -- and that the Palestinians be allowed to establish a capital in east Jerusalem. "Any diplomatic solution in the future must look after the historic security and strategic needs of Israel, and at the same time the Palestinians must drop their exaggerated desire for return of Palestinians within the territory of Israel," he said. "They must also give up any idea of dividing Jerusalem, which is Israel's eternal capital." But Sharon, 75 and a former army general, told the Knesset that he had "no aspirations other than one: To lead this people which has known so much suffering and so many difficulties ... on a new path -- a path of tranquility, a path of prosperity, a path of peace." The conservative bent of the new Israeli government has raised concerns among Palestinian leaders, who are afraid Sharon will continue the expansion of Jewish settlements in their territories. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat charged "the new government in Israel that has a provision that considers settlements in all its forms as an important ingredient ... will be a government that will continue with settlement activities ... and will abandon totally the peace process." Erakat said President Bush "who decided to delay the road map must move immediately in order to ask Sharon to stop all settlement activities if he wants to leave any room for future negotiations." The "Quartet" for Middle East peace -- made up of the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- have been trying to create a road map to peace in the region. Sharon's new government is a coalition between his own hard-line Likud party; the National Religious Party (NRP), a key backer of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza; the National Union, which is a staunch opponent of Palestinian statehood; and the centrist Shinui party. Sharon committed to 'road-based unity government'"I am convinced that the government I am presenting to you today is the best possible government for dealing with the difficulties facing us and coping with the challenges confronting us," Sharon said. The prime minister said he is committed to a "broad-based unity government, as broad-based as possible." "Compromise is a vital part of life in this government," he said. "They've shown great maturity." Frequently interrupted by hecklers, many from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Sharon presented other elements of his government's plans, which include a modernization of marriage laws currently controlled by Orthodox rules. Last fall, the dovish Labor dropped out of a coalition that included Shas and National Union or Yisrael Beiteinu Party in a dispute over the prime minister's budget. But Labor also had serious differences with Sharon's peace-making strategies. Sharon has courted Labor and its 19 Knesset seats, 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. Shas and its 11 seats were also left out of the Sharon government.
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