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This is an interesting development. And one, I believe can go a long way in the progress over Middle Eastern Peace Process.
Source (Excerpts Only)](BBC NEWS | Middle East | Q&A: Sharon-Peres coalition agreement)
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has asked veteran opposition leader Shimon Peres to join his shaky coalition - an alliance that could give a strong boost to Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
**What is drawing them together now and why? **
Mr Sharon needs a national unity government. He lost his majority in parliament because of opposition to his plan for unilaterally withdrawing from the occupied Gaza Strip. Bringing Labour into government will strengthen his coalition.
The Labour Party leader, Shimon Peres, wants a national unity government to make sure that the so-called disengagement plan goes ahead. This is also a chance for him to get out of opposition and back into power.
**What has each got to gain, and what are the risks? **
Mr Sharon stands to gain a stable government, but he risks real schisms in his Likud party.
A majority of its members oppose a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, they say it would reward Palestinian violence. Many also oppose a national unity government with Labour, believing it would give a boost to the disengagement plan.
Mr Peres stands to gain major ministerial posts and a chance to strengthen a process of withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian lands, something he sees as vital to restarting the long dead peace process.
He risks the charge that Labour is no longer capable of forming a government without Likud.
**What does all this mean for the Palestinians? **
Palestinians will see this as a sign that Mr Sharon is serious about disengagement.
However, they are divided about the plan. Some, like the Islamic group Hamas and the younger leadership of Mr Arafat’s Fatah movement - see it as a victory for their strategy of armed resistance.
Others see it as a trap in which Israel rids itself of the burden of Gaza, but consolidates its grip on the occupied West Bank through the expansion of Jewish settlements and the ongoing construction of its separation barrier.
Many of the Palestinian factions are opposed to a policy that systematically excludes the PA as a negotiating partner.
They will wait to see if the inclusion of Shimon Peres in Mr Sharon’s coalition helps revive some sort of peace process.
But given their experience of the last national unity government, few Palestinians have much hope that Mr Peres will be able to check what they see as the prime minister’s policies of conquest.
