Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won over enough parties to form a majority coalition last night, clearing the way for his plans to re-shape the West Bank and set final borders with the Palestinians.
Mr Olmert's centrist Kadima party reached its immediate goal when it drafted a deal earlier in the day with Shas, a leading ultra-religious Jewish party. Shas's ruling rabbis approved the agreement at a late-night meeting, a party spokesman said.
"The parties are signing the deal now," the spokesman said.
With Shas on board, Mr Olmert controls 67 of parliament's 120 seats - a majority crucial to pushing through his proposal to quit isolated Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and strengthen major settlements in the absence of peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israeli media have said the cabinet could be unveiled within days and sworn in on Thursday.
Kadima, the party which won the most seats in March 28th elections but not a majority, has already signed up the center-left Labour party and the pensioners' party Gil.
Mr Olmert has pledged to set Israel's borders with the Palestinians by 2010 with or without Palestinian agreement. His "convergence plan" includes beefing up major Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Palestinians have said such a move would not bring peace and would annex land they want for a state of their own in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, which Israel quit last year.