Israelis voted Tuesday to bring to power a new centrist party, Kadima, which is committed to a further pullout from the occupied West Bank.
Kadima's leader, Ehud Olmert, will become prime minister, but his support proved tepid and he will find it harder than expected to impose his agenda on a larger coalition.
Kadima, founded in November by Ariel Sharon when he broke with the Likud Party, won the most seats in the 120-member Knesset, or Parliament. But with 99.5 percent of the vote counted Wednesday morning, Kadima is expected to win only 28 seats, fewer than voter polls had suggested.
At the same time, Israelis turned away from the right, and Mr. Olmert should be able to carry out his plan for another withdrawal, unilaterally if necessary, from the West Bank to reduce the costs of the continuing occupation.
The Labor Party, which supports a West Bank withdrawal, was second, with 20 seats, giving it a strong position to bargain with Kadima for a powerful role in a coalition government. The Labor leader, the Moroccan-born Amir Peretz, is expected to insist on key ministries like finance, social welfare and possibly defense.
<<<snip>>>
Note:
* The voters repudiated Likud and its leader, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had warned against any new withdrawal as a victory for Palestinian terrorism. The party won only 11 seats.
* Voters gave the Pensioners Party, devoted to better rights for the elderly, seven seats and a likely role in government. The Pensioners seem likely to support Mr. Olmert's withdrawal plan.
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