Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has narrowly backed a new coalition government, giving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a firm basis to implement his Gaza pullout plan.
The new cabinet brings together Likud, Labour and a small orthodox party.
The vote gives Mr Sharon a cabinet majority for the disengagement plan, which also involves withdrawing from small areas of the West Bank.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, offered ‘the hand of peace’ to Israel after his landslide victory in yesterday's presidential election.
He said Palestinians were ready for peace based on justice.
Mr Abbas called for a resumption of talks based on the internationally-backed roadmap peace plan.
Preliminary official results show that Mr Abbas won 62.3% of the vote, beating his main rival, Mustafa Barghouti, in the poll to succeed the late Yasser Arafat.
Israel has welcomed the result and urged Mr Abbas to clamp down on militant Palestinian groups.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the outcome of the elections, saying they were 'a very important step' towards the creation of a democratic Palestinian state.
And EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Europe was ready to do everything possible to help realise the dream of Middle East peace, after meeting the incoming leader today.
