Sharon looks to unite Israel

Sharon at a victory celebration with his supporters

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon is heading into office trying to unite his country and its fractious parliament after his landslide election victory on February 6.

The Likud Party leader swept into power with the largest margin ever in Israeli politics, but he needs to attract members of the defeated Labor Party to his administration if he is to avoid relying on a minority government made up of extreme right wing and religious groups.

It is unclear which members of the Labor Party -- a party in disarray and leaderless after the election -- will join Sharon.

Sharon beat Ehud Barak by 62.6 percent to 37.2 percent with 99.9 percent of the vote counted -- a result that prompted the outgoing prime minister to quit as Labor leader and to resign his seat in the Knesset.

Sharon, a former army general and defense minister nicknamed "Bulldozer," has 45 days from February 13 -- when Tuesday's election is certified -- to form a new government. His first hurdle will come on March 31 when Israel's 2001 budget has to be passed.

Just days after his victory, Sharon met with Barak for coalition talks amid continuing violence -- including a car bomb that exploded in Jerusalem and a gun battle in the West Bank.

"The government I will lead will make every effort to reach peace, but the condition for starting peace talks is the cessation of terror and violence," Sharon said after the car bombing, which caused little damage except to cars near the one that exploded.

Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres has said he would be interested in joining forces with Sharon, who is an old friend despite the political divide. Peres and Barak are heading the Labor Party delegation in meetings with Sharon.

Failure to form a unity government could usher in Sharon's party rival, former Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, considered by observers to be the most popular politician in Israel at the moment despite being ousted by Barak in 1999.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour said the low turnout in the election means there is no overwhelming mandate for Sharon.

She added that Sharon has yet to convince Labor to join a unity government and that a coalition of right wing and religious parties would be more divisive than unifying.

Sharon also has to deal with a four-month-old Palestinian intifada if he is to fulfil his electoral promise of "security with peace."

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has condemned Sharon for leading the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, said he would continue to seek a peace agreement.

But Arafat said a peace deal with a Sharon government would be "not only on the Palestinian track (but) the Lebanese track and the Syrian track so that we can have a new Middle East." He has rejected Sharon's plans to ditch the progress made under the Barak regime.

Sharon's victory message was a repeat of his campaign slogan, which said he would provide security for Israel while continuing to negotiate peace with the Palestinians.

He has given no indication whether he will offer more land to the Palestinians in the search for peace and has not said if he will continue to allow the policy of building Israeli settlements on disputed territory.

His supporters greeted Sharon's political comeback with chants calling for the "End of Oslo" -- the interim peace accord that Sharon opposed.

Israelis were unhappy at how far Barak was prepared to go in search of a peace deal with the Palestinians while ultimately failing to reach agreement.

They were also disappointed at the lack of economic measures introduced by Barak to improve prosperity.

Barak also failed to mobilize large numbers of his core voters -- Arab Israelis and Russian immigrants -- a fact reflected in the 62 percent turnout nationally.

That is a sharp drop from the 1999 election turnout of 78.7 percent. Israel's voting average of close to 80 percent is among the democratic world's highest.

Barak insisted his pursuit of peace with the Palestinians was the "one and only true path" and that his party was ahead of its time.

"Friends, we have lost a battle but we will win the war," he said.

Palestinians say they will work with Sharon -- Israel's fifth prime minister in less than eight years -- but the promise was tinged with a warning that Palestinians will not move backward in the peace talks.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told CNN: "To have a meaningful peace process we will continue where we left off."

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.