Israel's new coaltion government led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose centrist Kadima party has vowed to separate from the Palestenians and draw the country's final borders by 2010, has been sworn in after parliamentary approval.
Lawmakers at the Knesset voted 65-49 in favour of the government on Thursday after Olmert presented policy guidelines of the new formation emphasising on his "convergence plan", calling upon for further evacuation from the West Bank to re-define Israel's borders, either through negotiations or unilaterally.
"On the eve of the elections, and immediately thereafter, we placed on the public agenda policies that are clear and inescapable," the incoming prime minister who leads the centrist Kadima party told the Knesset before the vote of confidence.
"We did not for one moment try to obscure the national agenda this government will bring to fruition. The entire government will act according to this commitment," he emphasised in reference to the plan.
When Olmert came to sign the declaration of allegiance after the vote, a technical snag put the process on hold with three pens, one after the other, failing to work before the fourth came to his rescue.
Right-wing Shas party makes a comeback in the new government, despite stating that it opposes the evacuation plan, thus putting the new government in minority for the stated agenda.
