JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has asked chief Likud Party rival Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly criticized Sharon as being too soft on Palestinians, to be his new foreign minister in a reshaped right-wing government.
Sharon offered the job yesterday to Netanyahu, a former prime minister, a day after he asked retired Army Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz, who orchestrated a blistering series of attacks on the Palestinians, to fill the vacant defense minister seat.
Should Mofaz and Netanyahu accept, the new Cabinet would be perhaps the most hawkish in Israel's history - with the prime minister and foreign and defense ministers all opposed to negotiating with Palestinians unless Yasser Arafat is removed from power.
Both Netanyahu and Mofaz advocate expelling Arafat from the West Bank.
Both men have asked for more time before making a decision.
The posts became vacant this week after the Labor Party resigned from Sharon's coalition government, forcing him to rebuild his Cabinet and try to regain a majority in parliament. Otherwise, he could face new elections.
To head off criticism that the government would be made up of ministers representing only the hard line, Sharon promised yesterday that the right-wing coalition he is trying to form would not undermine American efforts to broker peace with the Palestinians.
In an interview with the newspaper Maariv, Sharon said anyone who joins his government would have to conform to practices put in place by his former, more moderate Labor Party partners and agree to the eventual formation of a Palestinian state.
"Policy lines will remain exactly the same: war on terror, renewing political negotiations and reaching an agreement," Sharon told the newspaper. The sentiment was echoed in a message delivered to the White House.
Still, there is considerable concern here that without the moderating influence of the Labor Party, Sharon's Cabinet will increase military attacks in the West Bank, forcibly drive out Arafat and invade the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported last night that Netanyahu and Sharon met to discuss an arrangement in which Netanyahu, who lost a bitter re-election bid to Labor's Ehud Barak in 1999, would take over as prime minister in two years. The two are scheduled to meet again tomorrow.
American officials in Washington, meanwhile, have refused to comment on internal Israeli politics. But they reiterated their desire this week for a "road map" to get Israelis and Palestinians talking again - a subtle reminder that a shift in Israeli policy would not be welcomed.
The political tumult began Wednesday when Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who is also the Labor Party leader, resigned from the Cabinet amid a dispute over the budget for Jewish settlements.
The other Labor ministers also quit, leaving Sharon without a majority in the 120-seat parliament.
Sharon, who faces a vote of confidence Monday that could force elections in 90 days, is trying to patch together a new coalition by calling on right-wing and religious party leaders. A flurry of meetings is expected to begin tomorrow night after the Sabbath.
Sharon is also scheduled to meet tomorrow with members of the National Union Party, an ultra-right faction that holds seven seats in parliament - enough to give him a majority. The party opposes negotiations with the Palestinians and favors annexing the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Sharon has tried to counter the image of an extremist government by offering Shimon Peres, a Labor Party stalwart and the outgoing foreign minister, a post similar to that of a special envoy. Peres has declined.
Mofaz, who retired as a lieutenant general and army chief of staff four months ago, oversaw some of the most sweeping and punishing military offensives against the Palestinians. He and Sharon had pushed for even harsher measures but were restrained by Labor ministers, such as Peres and Ben-Eliezer.
Ben-Eliezer, who faces a tough election Nov. 19 for party chairman, gave his farewell speech yesterday to defense workers, soldiers and his staff. He told them that the army had done its job in the past 20 months and that it is time to sit down and talk with Palestinian leaders.
"It can be said that the [army] has decisively won the war against Palestinian terror," Ben-Eliezer said. "And now the question is what direction we face. I believe that now is the time for a serious diplomatic move because only such a move can change the tragic situation in our region."
But that might not be feasible under Sharon and the new government he is planning. When Netanyahu was prime minister from 1996 to 1999, he only grudgingly implemented the Oslo peace accords that gave Arafat control over areas in the West Bank and Gaza.
Netanyahu's defeat by Barak became a referendum on the peace process, which ended toward the end of Barak's tenure with the start of the Palestinian uprising.
When Barak was unable to achieve peace, Sharon reclaimed the prime minister's chair for his Likud Party in February 2001, promising to deliver peace and security.
Over the past two years, Netanyahu has emerged as Sharon's chief rival, often criticizing his fellow party member as being too soft on the Palestinians. Putting Netanyahu in the Cabinet could effectively silence Sharon's competition.
At a Likud Party conference last year, Netanyahu lashed out at Sharon and said that "restraint causes more escalation."
In an interview with the Associated Press in February, Netanyahu said he might challenge Sharon and said that Israel's military has "not used a fraction of a fraction of the means that it has available" to put an end to militant Palestinian groups.