Polls released on Monday showed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is significantly narrowing the margin of support with Likud party rival Benjamin Netanyahu in the power-brokering central committee of the party, with Sharon edging ahead in some surveys.

A Dahaf Institute poll, conducted by pollster Minna Tzemach among 349 Likud central committee members, showed 39 percent favoring Sharon as their candidate in the next general elections, versus 28 percent for Netanyahu.

The third candidate in the race, Uzi Landau, leader of the Likud anti-disengagement caucus, would receive the support of 16 percent. Seventeen percent were undecided.

On the most crucial issue, opinion was nearly evenly divided on whether Likud primaries should be moved up. The survey showed 47 percent supporting early primaries and 45 percent opposed, a significant drop in the pro-Netanyahu "yes" vote over polls taken weeks ago.

Likud Central Committee is to vote next Monday on a proposal for holding early primaries.

The prime minister was narrowing the gaps in poll in Maariv daily as well. The Maariv survey showed that Sharon could retain the party leadership in a three-man race with Uzi Landau and Netanyahu, and that Netanyahu would only narrowly edge Sharon in a two-man contest.

Sharon is to return home from the UN assembly in New York Monday afternoon. He said to the Jewish leaders ahead of his departure that "there is a complex political struggle with awful incitement going on in Israel, because a minority acted against the disengagement plan, and that's how I have lost the majority in my party."

Source: Xinhua