The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, has said that he was ready to hold an early general election and that a date will be agreed in the next few days. He announced his surprise decision before a vote in which the Knesset was expected to pass a series of opposition bills calling for new elections. Following Mr Barak's announcement, the Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami said that he did not expect elections to be held until April next year at the earliest.
Earlier, Mr Barak, who heads a minority government, made a last-minute appeal to the leader of the opposition Likud party Ariel Sharon to drop the move for new elections. Mr Barak was elected last year for a four-year term. He has been under a barrage of criticism over his handling of peace talks with the Palestinians and a two-month-old uprising by protesters demanding independence.
