Barak in late dash to keep job

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has blitzed television sets in a last-ditch bid to retain the leadership when Israelis vote tomorrow.

The odds are heavily on right-winger and Likud party leader Ariel Sharon winning the election by 17 to 21 per cent.

The campaign has been dominated by a four-month Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule that has cost at least 317 lives and stalled peace talks.

Finance Minister Abraham Shohat acknowledged that Barak faced an uphill battle.

"We need to do everything we can to win," he said.

"It won't be easy - the numbers are not good."

In a bid to boost his chances, Barak blitzed Arab-Israeli and Russian-Israeli television sets at the weekend in a series of interviews.

He reached out to a million Russian-Israelis, whose votes are crucial in the election, giving interviews to Russian television stations available on cable in Israel.

He also gave an interview to Abu Dhabi television, a satellite station watched by Arabs in Israel, many of whom have threatened to boycott the election due to anger at the killing of 13 Israeli Arabs after the Palestinian uprising erupted in late September.

A mass walkout by Israeli Arabs could do irreparable damage to Barak's already slim chances.

Sharon, who speaks some Russian, also gave interviews to Russian television stations to convince Russian-speaking Israelis, who generally hold hawkish views on peace with the Palestinians, to vote for him.

In their interviews, Barak and Sharon said they sought lasting peace with Palestinians, Barak by continuing negotiations, Sharon by first emphasising security.

The Prime Minister said if re-elected he would withdraw Israeli soldiers from most West Bank and Gaza Strip areas in the same way that he brought the troops home from South Lebanon last May after 22 years of occupation.

The 58-year-old former Army general said Israel needed to separate from the Palestinians, either with a peace deal or unilaterally, in order to safeguard its security.

"Without a border there won't be quiet; without a border there won't be deterrence; and only with a clear border between us and them will we ensure quiet, our personal security and our honour," Barak said.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah said it would step up the uprising regardless who won.

- REUTERS

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