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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: December 11, 2005 |
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Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Sunday quit the Likud Party to join the new centrist party led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Army Radio reported.
The move was the latest blow to Likud, which has dominated Israeli politics for three decades. Likud has plummeted in opinion polls and been riven by infighting since Sharon left last month.
Sharon said that leaving the hard-line Likud would give him more leeway to pursue a peace deal with the Palestinians. Party hard-liners repeatedly tried to thwart Sharon's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, completed in September, and have vowed to fight any further territorial concessions to the Palestinians.
Mofaz had been seeking the Likud leadership, but polls showed him trailing.
Sharon is widely expected to cruise to victory in March 28 elections, with polls forecasting the Likud being reduced to a small party.
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