...Kadima, a new centrist party, emerged from the March 2006 general election as the largest party in the Knesset (parliament), with 29 of the 120 seats. The party's leader, Ehud Olmert, formed a governing coalition, which after the withdrawal of some members controls 64 seats. Mr Olmert's popularity slumped in the wake of the mid-2006 conflict between Israel and Hizbullah, a Lebanese Shia group, but he was able to retain power. Allegations of personal corruption have dogged Mr Olmert and other members of his government, eroding his support within Kadima and among the public. Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 triggered a shift in the political landscape. This policy involved the abandonment by Likud, the then governing party, of its central tenet--namely maintaining Israel's hold on the biblical Land of Israel. The resultant split in Likud persuaded Mr Sharon in November 2005 to leave the political party he had been instrumental in founding. Concomitantly, tensions...
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