Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday he would seek a governing coalition with Shimon Peres's Labor Party and pledged to press ahead with a planned Gaza pullout. 

Sharon said that after dismissing his main political partner, the Shinui Party, over its opposition to the 2005 state budget, he had "no choice but to officially attempt to broaden the coalition with the Labor Party and religious parties.

"I intend to bring this step as soon as possible for approval to the Likud central committee to enable the establishment of a unity government," said Sharon.

Labor has publicly signaled its willingness to open coalition negotiations with Sharon.

Israel's political crisis spilled over on Wednesday when Sharon fired Shinui cabinet ministers for voting against the budget in its first reading in parliament. He was left in control of only 40 of the 120 seats in the legislature.

In his remarks yesterday, Sharon said he did not believe an election at this time would serve Israel's interests.

"We will be able to form a new and stable coalition that will be in office until (the next scheduled election) in November 2006," he said.

The prime minister said he intended to press on with plans to remove all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 in the West Bank in 2005, a withdrawal that would be jeopardized by any early national ballot.

"The disengagement will be implemented, period. I repeat, it will be implemented, period," he said.

In another development, Sharon expressed opposition yesterday to peace talks with Syria while it continued to host Palestinian militant groups in Damascus.

Once conditions were ripe, Sharon said he would be willing to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Efforts to revive peace talks appeared to gain momentum when UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said earlier this week that Syria had made an overture that Israel should grab quickly.

(China Daily December 3, 2004)