Sharon forms coalition

Tel Aviv

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon formed a new government this week that includes a party that promotes Jewish settlement in Palestinian territories and a secular party that opposes privileges for the ultra-Orthodox. The left-wing Labor Party will go into opposition. The deal leaves Sharon’s Likud Party in charge of security and defense, and analysts expect little change in the current hard line against Palestinian militancy. The only surprise was the exclusion of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a traditional Likud ally. Angered by the snub, Shas’ Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said that by making an alliance with secularists, Sharon had become “the prime minister of garbage cans.”

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