Why has Ariel Sharon just quit Likud?
He has been in a running battle with a large hard-right section of Likud who never accepted his withdrawal of Israeli troops, and settlers from Gaza last August do not share his declared backing for an (eventual) Palestinian state, and were determined to replace him as leader. Maybe, despite polls showing otherwise, he feared losing the leadership. But it is more likely that he wanted the freedom of manoeuvre a new party would give him. Who are the other key figures and what do they stand for? First of the big players is Amir Peretz, who ousted Shimon Peres, the veteran leader of the Labor party. Peretz believes passionately in social justice and more economic equality for Israelis, as well as a negotiated peace with the Palestinians, picking up where the late Yitzhak Rabin left off. The second will be whoever emerges as the Likud leader. Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon’s bitter rival, and the man who more than any other made the PM lose his patience with Likud, is still the favourite. He i
