Jerusalem, Nov 02: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hopes to persuade his hawkish rival Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend to become his foreign minister, as he seeks
to form a new Right-wing cabinet following the collapse of the coalition government.
Sharon offered the job to his rival for the leadership of his Right-wing Likud during a two-hour meeting yesterday at his ranch in southern Israel`s Negev desert, public television reported.
The hawkish Netanyahu, a former Prime Minister, was expected to give Sharon an answer at a second meeting tomorrow, it said.
The Jerusalem Post also reported yesterday that Netanyahu, who has veered hard to the right since losing office in 1999, was being considered for the post of foreign
minister.
Public radio quoted Likud sources as saying they
expected Netanyahu to accept the job, although this could
complicate an eventual Netanyahu bid to replace Sharon.
Sharon has already offered the post of defence minister
to the hardline former army chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz.
Government sources said Mofaz, who last spring called or Yasser Arafat`s deportation, had asked for a few days to consider the offer.
Sharon`s National Unity government collapsed on Wednesday when the Labour Party`s five ministers, including Dovish foreign secretary Shimon Peres, resigned in a row over
subsidies for Jewish settlers in the occupied territories.
Bureau Report
