By Howard Goller
Jerusalem - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party has ridden to victory in Israel's general election on a wave of support for his tough line with Palestinians, humiliating left-wing parties that had pursued Middle East peace deals.
Greeted by flag-waving supporters who burst into song, Sharon claimed victory early on Wednesday and urged parties to join him in a broad government to meet the twin challenges of what he called terrorism and a possible Gulf war.
Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna conceded defeat in a telephone call to Sharon soon after voting ended on Tuesday. Results showed Likud storming back into power, replacing Labour as the biggest party in parliament.
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'We do not intend to join' Labour endured its worst defeat, falling to 19 seats from 25 in the 120-member parliament, reflecting Israelis' fury at the party's having put its faith in Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to make peace.
Hundreds of Israelis have been killed in scores of suicide bombings carried out by militants at the forefront of a 28-month-old Palestinian uprising.
Labour's former partner in peace moves, the leftist Meretz party, won 6 seats, down from 10, while Likud soared to 37, up from 19 in the current Knesset.
Further underscoring divisions, the upstart Shinui party swept into third place, with 15 seats, up from 6, on a pledge to deny ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties their historical role as political power brokers able to demand state cash and benefits.
Although Sharon did not deliver the peace and security he promised when elected in February 2001 - and few expected him to do so now - he flaunted his credentials as a veteran general and experienced politician to convince Israelis he was the best person to lead them through such troubled times.
'We will change the face of Israeli society' President Moshe Katzav was expected to ask Sharon to form a new government to tackle a deep economic crisis and the Palestinian revolt for an independent state.
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