Israel's Peretz backs Ayalon as Labour Party leader

Jerusalem, June 4: Israeli Defence Minister and outgoing Labour Party chairman Amir Peretz said that he will support ex-security chief Ami Ayalon in a June 12 runoff for the party's leadership.

The support of Peretz, who won 22 percent backing in a first round vote, could be crucial for Ayalon, who faces former Prime Minister Ehud Barak in the runoff ballot to head the party, a senior partner in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition.

Both Ayalon and Barak have called for Olmert to quit over his handling of last year's Lebanon war. But both have stopped short of saying they would pull Labour out of the coalition immediately.

Neither candidate received enough votes to avoid a runoff during last month's first round elections, with Barak taking 36 percent and Ayalon 31 percent of the votes.

''I have come to the conclusion that in this campaign, all of us, as one, are going to support the candidacy of Ami Ayalon,'' Peretz said at Labour Party headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Despite his words, it is not clear how many of his supporters Peretz can deliver for Ayalon.

Olmert and Peretz saw their popularity plummet last summer when Israel's military failed to crush Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

Peretz was criticised in a recent government report on the war, which noted his lack of experience in military affairs.

Ayalon, a retired navy admiral and former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, is a relative newcomer to party politics.

Peretz will likely seek a senior post, possibly the finance ministry, in return for his support.

The new chairman is likely to take over the post of defence minister, which is reserved for Labour under its coalition agreement with Olmert's centrist Kadima party.

Reuters>