Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his candidacy yesterday for leader of the ruling Likud Party, issuing a direct challenge to current party head Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Internal Likud polls show the hawkish Netanyahu beating Sharon among Likud members in a match up for party leader, though Sharon is far more popular among the general Israeli population.

"I intend to lead the party to victory in the coming elections and form the next government," he said.

The next election in Israel is scheduled for November 2006, but Sharon's coalition government has grown increasingly shaky. If the government falls, it would almost certainly spark an early vote.

Netanyahu made his announcement with a strong attack on Sharon, who is in the midst of his plan for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip, a move popular with many Israelis but despised by hardline Likud members who see it as a betrayal of the party's root.

Vengeful party hardliners are trying to punish Sharon for ignoring their opposition to the Gaza pullout. Netanyahu, who was premier from 1996-99, quit as Sharon's finance minister three weeks ago in protest over the withdrawal.

Netanyahu's announcement came after Sharon gave an interview lashing Netanyahu as unfit to lead the country, and Netanyahu's allies pushed for a quick primary that could lead to Sharon's ouster from the party.

The battle could split Likud and remove it from power, senior party officials warned. "I've never before seen collective suicide committed with such joy," said cabinet minister Meir Shetreet, a Sharon ally.

Political wrangling among Israelis and Palestinians could freeze Mideast peacemaking for months, despite the boost it received from the Gaza pullout.

In addition to the upcoming political elections, Palestinian parliament elections are set for January, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is not expected to take tough decisions, including on a possible crackdown on popular militant groups, before the vote.

The Sharon-Netanyahu battle burst into the open after a party tribunal ruled on Monday that the 3,000-member Likud Central Committee, stacked with Netanyahu supporters, could set a primary date in a September 25 vote.

Netanyahu would benefit from a quick leadership contest. Sharon needs more time to try to stage a comeback in the party he helped found three decades ago. Sharon is expected to leave Likud before the primary if poll results don't improve.

In such a scenario, Sharon would likely form a new party with Likud moderates and compete in general elections. With the Gaza pullout completed, Sharon has broad voter appeal, while a more hawkish Netanyahu-led Likud is expected to lose support.

Currently, Likud is the largest party, with 40 seats in the 120-member parliament.

(China Daily August 31, 2005)