JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief Likud Party rival, Benjamin Netanyahu, said last night that he would accept Sharon's offer to be foreign minister and help save the fragile government, but only if early elections are held.

Sharon said in a statement that his office is examining the proposal. The prime minister has been trying to avoid early elections since last week's resignation of the Labor Party, which left his coalition shy of a majority in parliament.

Instead of clearing up the confusing state of Israeli politics, Netanyahu's answer added another layer of intrigue and turmoil as the two staunch competitors debated about forming a pact while maneuvering to advance their own political futures.

In a statement, Netanyahu, who served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999, left open the possibility of running against Sharon even if he accepts the Cabinet position and suggested that the two should work together regardless of who emerges victorious in the next election.

"Mr. Netanyahu suggested to Prime Minister Sharon that they both pledge to cooperate with one another following the Likud leadership primaries and in the next government," the statement says, adding that new elections would strengthen the Likud Party, perhaps even doubling its 19 seats in the 120-member parliament.

Netanyahu's aides argued that Sharon's attempts to cobble together a right-wing majority coalition - such as through talks with the far-right National Union Party, which are to continue today - would only establish a weak and unstable government that would accomplish little.

Sharon's minority coalition faces its first test today with a vote of confidence. Should Sharon lose, he would be required to call for elections within 90 days. But it appeared last night that his opponents would not be able to muster the 61 votes needed.

Also on today's parliamentary agenda is the confirmation of retired Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz as defense minister. He stepped down from his post as army chief of staff four months ago, after orchestrating a sweeping reoccupation of the West Bank and a series of harsh crackdowns on Palestinians.

A Cabinet with Sharon, Netanyahu and Mofaz would be one of Israel's most hard-line governments in history. All three support exiling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and other tough measures, and they would no longer be subject to the moderating influence of the Labor Party.

Sharon, however, has promised the United States that he would not abandon efforts to restart peace talks and his commitment to an eventual Palestinian state, even as some of the people he needs to form a government - such as Netanyahu and the National Union Party - oppose those measures.

Officials in the National Union Party had said they would not compromise on their position that calls for the ouster of Arafat and the reannexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But Sharon aides said yesterday that the group was leaning toward joining his government.

Efraim Inbar, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv and an expert on Israeli security and politics, dismissed worries of a hard-line position and said the posturing has more to do with politics than principle.

"I don't think it's a question of the factions being able to work together under the current government policy," Inbar said last night. "It's more a question of maneuvering for elections. They are playing games. It is now a question of who is going to be able to blame the other for not coming together."

At his weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday before the two met, Sharon issued a plea to Netanyahu - widely known as "Bibi" - to come aboard. "Enlisting Bibi Netanyahu's talents to this cause could strengthen this government, given the challenges we face," he said.

Since losing a bitter re-election bid to Labor's Ehud Barak in 1999, Netanyahu has remained out of politics, but he has recently increased his jabs at Sharon, saying he has been too soft in dealing with the Palestinians. He also has advocated ousting Arafat.

Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to challenge Sharon in the next election, which must be held by October next year. Sharon is trying to hold on to power and delay elections as long as possible, while Netanyahu is trying to seize a weak moment and bolster his position.

Some political analysts have said that Sharon offered Netanyahu the foreign minister position to take his rival out of the competition. They also have said the two were working on an agreement under which Sharon would step aside in the middle of his next term so that Netanyahu could take over.

Last night's developments and conditions put forward by Netanyahu create another set of scenarios and plunge the immediate future of the next government into further doubt.

Former Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who quit with five other Labor Cabinet ministers last week over a dispute about funding to Jewish settlements, told Israeli Radio yesterday that early elections are inevitable. "I don't see how a government can be formed," he said.

By the numbers Party affiliations in Israel's 120-seat parliament. The moderate Labor Party, the largest single faction, quit Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition last week, leaving the government without a majority.

In government (55):

Likud (Sharon's party) 19

Shas 17

National Religious Party 5

United Torah Judaism 5

Center Party 5

Israel B'Aliya 4

Negotiating to join govt. (7):

National Union Party 7

Opposition (58):

Labor 25

Meretz 10

Israeli-Arab parties 10

Shinui 6

Gesher 2

One Nation 2

Democratic Choice 2

Herut 1

Associated Press