Israeli acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and veteran politician Shimon Peres vowed at a Friday morning meeting to continue the policies of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon toward the Palestinians, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported.

Peres was quoted as saying after the meeting that he and Olmert agreed to follow Sharon's policies as the 77-year-old prime minister was undergoing an emergency surgery to reduce intracranial pressure and stem fresh bleeding at a Jerusalem hospital.

The two senior politicians, close allies of Sharon, vowed to continue "an unhesitating war on terror, as well as an unending effort in the direction of the peace process," said the report.

Doctors said Sharon, hospitalized after suffering a massive stroke on Wednesday, was unlikely to resume office in the future.

In addition, Olmert, long-time close associate of Sharon, also tried to woo continuous support of Peres for Sharon's newly- founded centrist Kadima party, said the report, adding that the center-left Labor party, of which Peres is a long-time member but was toppled from chairmanship, has been trying to get Peres back.

However, the meeting was interrupted by reports that Sharon was being rushed to the operating room for emergency surgery, said the report.

Peres declared later that he and Olmert had agreed to meet again next week, saying he saw similarities between himself and the acting prime minister.

Senior members of Kadima pledged solid support to Olmert, who is widely expected to succeed Sharon as the party's head.

Latest polls released on Friday showed that Kadima would beat rival Labor and the center-right Likud party in the upcoming March 28 general elections even without Sharon.

But the sudden grave illness of Sharon, long championed as capable of bold steps toward settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, has sent shocks across the Israeli political landscape and cast uncertainty to the prospects of the Mideast peace process.

Source: Xinhua