Peres Joins Forces With Sharon

(CBS/AP)  Bitter over his ouster as Labor Party chief, Shimon Peres quit his political home of six decades Wednesday to campaign for Ariel Sharon's new party, saying the prime minister is the best choice to lead Israel to peace with the Palestinians.

Peres' defection was an important coup for Sharon in the scramble by the major parties to recruit high-profile supporters during a political realignment the past three weeks as the country prepares for parliamentary elections in March.

Many Israelis respect Peres, an 82-year-old former prime minister, as an elder statesman and peacemaker, but they remain wary of his dovish politics.

His resignation from Labor could contribute to the view that he is a political opportunist. Peres also brings with him a reputation as a perennial loser at the polls who led Labor to five electoral defeats and lost a race this month to lead the party into a sixth election.

"This has not been an easy decision for me, but I found myself faced with the contradiction between the party of which I am a member and the requirements of the political situation," Peres said. "Without ignoring the deep connection that I have to the party's historical path and its members, I must prefer the more urgent and greater consideration ... My party activity has come to an end."

If Sharon's Kadima party wins early elections in March, Peres would be appointed chief peace negotiator with the Palestinians, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.

Under a reported deal worked out with the prime minister, Peres will support Kadima, the centrist party Sharon formed last week after leaving the hard-line Likud, but he will not officially join the party and he will not run for a seat in parliament, where he has served since 1959.

His voice shaking with emotion, Peres said the decision to leave Labor was not easy, but he believed Sharon was best suited to pursue a peace deal with the Palestinians.

"I am convinced that he is determined, as I am, to continue with the peace process and restart it immediately after the elections," he said. "I decided, therefore, to support his election and cooperate with him to realize these goals."

Peres' critics said he was more concerned with remaining at the center of Israeli politics than with ending the Mideast conflict.

"You can present everything as a principle ... The peace process is important, but more important is: 'Where do I stand with the peace process? Is peace being done without me?"' said Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Labor foreign minister.

Despite their differences, Peres and Sharon forged a friendship over the decades that they turned into a political partnership as Sharon fought attempts by Likud hard-liners to torpedo his Gaza withdrawal plan. Sharon has said Israel would have to leave parts of the West Bank, while maintaining major settlement blocs, in any final peace deal with the Palestinians.

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