Netanyahu seeks Sharon ouster

Netanyahu, Prime Minister from 1996-99, resigned in protest this month over Sharon8217;s evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements from Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank under a US-backed plan to 8216;8216;disengage8217;8217; from conflict with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu is the hero of hardline nationalists in a Likud split over the pullout, and says the move will imperil Israel by turning Gaza into an 8216;8216;independent terrorist base8217;8217; rather than a model for Palestinian statehood. 8216;8216;Sharon has gone a different way, the way of the Left. Likud needs leadership that will repair the damage8230; I believe I can do this and will stand for the Likud leadership and premiership,8217;8217; Netanyahu told a news conference.

The looming Likud showdown will be a culture clash as well. It pits Sharon, a stout former general known for hardnosed leadership and distaste for messy debate, against Netanyahu, a US-educated master of the soundbite who revived Israel8217;s economy.

While Netanyahu is seen as truer to Likud principles, Sharon is Israel8217;s 8220;most respected8221; leader. The would mark the first time an Israeli party has tried to topple a serving PM as chairman. 8212;Reuters