Israel election may stall peace process, says UN

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's call for early elections could lead to a temporary halt in the Middle East peace process, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned.

"During this election period, maybe there are certain proposals or issues that cannot be pushed, and things are going to be at a standstill for a while," Annan said.

"I hope that these elections will go smoothly and we can get back to pressing the peace process."

The United Nations is part of the Middle East quartet of international mediators that have laid out a road map to Palestinian statehood and peace in the region. The others in the quartet are the United States, the European Union and Russia.

However, progress on the road map will be difficult during an election campaign as Palestinians could hold out during any negotiations in hopes of Sharon's defeat and an offer of more favourable terms from his successor.

Sharon quit his right-wing Likud party on Monday to form a centrist party, hours after asking President Moshe Katsav to dissolve Parliament and order early elections.

Sharon said the party - so far unnamed - would aim for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. However, he ruled out more unilateral withdrawals from occupied land after his Gaza Strip pullout, which sparked a rebellion in Likud's ranks. In a final break with his past as the standard-bearer of Israel's political right, Sharon's departure from Likud dealt a massive blow to the party.

But it also threw up a series of unpredictable post-election scenarios - including the once-unthinkable possibility of a coalition between himself and the new Labour leader Amir Peretz which could edge to ending conflict with the Palestinians.

Sharon confirmed that the refusal of the hard-right Likud opponents of his pull-out from Gaza to accept his ministerial appointments last month had been the final factor in his decision to form a new "liberal" party. As the Knesset voted by a large majority to dissolve itself and precipitate an election in March, Sharon declared: "The Likud in its present configuration cannot lead the nation to its goals. Staying would have meant wasting time with politics instead of working for the good of the nation. I prefer the good of the nation."

Benjamin Netanyahu is favourite to replace Sharon at the head Likud.

- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS