Olmert claims election victory

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TEL AVIV -- Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared victory last night for his centrist Kadima party in Israel's elections, vowing to act on his own if necessary to draw Israel's final borders and "painfully" uproot Jewish settlers if negotiations with the Palestinians are not possible.

But a weaker-than-expected showing could undermine his ability to push for new territorial concessions by Israel in the West Bank.

With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, the newly formed party won 28 seats in the 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament. Labor was the second-largest bloc, with 20 seats; the Likud won 11 seats.

If the final results stand, they would leave Mr. Olmert dependent on a potentially unstable constellation of smaller parties to hold together a coalition.

For the first time in Israel's history, a party other than Labor or Likud will lead the government. Kadima, founded in late November after Prime Minister Sharon resigned from the ruling Likud Party over internal opposition to the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, turned yesterday's vote into a referendum on the party's vow to fix Israel's final borders within four years, either by peace negotiations or unilaterally.

Mr. Sharon's defection proved devastating for the Likud and its new chairman, Benjamin Netanyahu. The party was projected to win 10 to 12 seats, about one-fourth the number won in elections three years ago.

The preliminary results suggested that Mr. Olmert's government could not be blocked by any alliance of right-wing parties, virtually all of whom have pledged to stand in the way of his proposal to evacuate unilaterally most Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Mr. Olmert, who took over after Mr. Sharon suffered a massive stroke in January, began his victory speech by thanking the ailing prime minister.

Mr. Sharon's shadow hung over the campaign even though he remains in deep coma.

The new leader of Israel quickly turned to his goal of creating a final border with the Palestinians, and vowed that Israel would abandon its preference of peace negotiations in favor of unilateral actions if necessary.