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Barak Appeals to Peres Not to Run Against Him
Prime Minister Ehud Barak appealed publicly to Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres not challenge him in an Israeli election that will set the course for peacemaking with the Palestinians.
"To my friends, foremost among them Shimon, I say, come along with us on a charge toward peace," Barak, leader of the Labor Party, told a televised election rally Tuesday in the southern city of Beersheba. "Don"t lend a hand toward factionalism and dispute," said Barak.
Barak, who resigned on December 10 but remains caretaker prime minister, addressed an enthusiastic crowd after Netanyahu dropped out of the race for prime minister and Peres said he was considering mounting his own bid for the job.
Netanyahu"s withdrawal, after parliament rejected his call for a general election, appeared to leave former general Ariel Sharon, his hawkish heir to the Likud leadership, as Barak"s main challenger in a February 6 prime ministerial vote.
The date was set on Tuesday after Israel"s Central Elections Committee, which had wanted more time to prepare for the ballot, decided against pursuing a bid for a 30-day postponement. Breaking a silence on his own political aspirations, Peres said of his possible candidacy: "I am weighing it very carefully and I have to weigh it very carefully because it"s an appeal by the public and it must be considered seriously." Peres, 77, told reporters that he was aware of concerns that might split the left-wing vote.
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