Israel's ruling Likud Party lawmakers in Knesset (parliament) will receive on Monday a proposal designed to resolve the crisis threatening to split the party.

The two mediators, Likud chair in parliament Gideon Sa'ar and Likud parliament member Michael Eitan, propose establishing a negotiating forum for resolving disagreements within the Likud. The projected forum would include Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, deputy prime minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and former finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the so- called "rebels" Uzi Landau and Sa'ar.

Sharon's associates said Saturday night that they are studying the proposal.

Last Monday, Sharon postponed for a week a Knesset vote on three ministerial appointments due to lack of enough support in the legislature where about ten of the Likud's 40 Knesset members are expected to vote against.

Sa'ar and Eitan believed that their proposal would make it possible to push through Sharon's appointments of Ehud Olmert as finance minister, Roni Bar-On as industry, trade and labor minister and Ze'ev Boim as immigrant absorption minister. The Knesset is slated to vote on the appointments Monday evening.

Sharon associates said that considerations of "national responsibility" and a wish to avoid economic shock waves may impel Sharon to ask the Knesset to vote Monday on Olmert's appointment for which a majority is assured and postpone the other votes.

The associates added that even if Sharon loses Monday's vote, he will not rush to disperse the Knesset and call early elections, since he does not think Israel needs that.

The general elections will not take place until November 2006.

Netanyahu, who is former prime minister and Sharon's rival for party leadership, resigned as finance minister in August in protest at Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

The Likud central committee rejected a demand from Netanyahu in September for early Likud leader election in an attempt to topple Sharon.

Source: Xinhua