"The prime minister will pursue the application of his plan with the same timetable for the withdrawal from Gaza, the contacts with the Egyptians will continue, as will the construction of the security barrier (in the West Bank)," a senior official within in his office told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Sharon suffered a stunning blow to his pullout plan late yesterday when his right-wing Likud party's convention voted against Labour joining a new broad-based coalition by 843 votes to 612.
An alternative motion filed by Sharon's camp at the convention in Tel Aviv which would have authorised him to negotiate with "any Zionist party" was defeated by just 19 votes.
The premier needs to bring Labour into the government to achieve the parliamentary majority for his so-called disengagement plan from Gaza.
"The prime minister will also work to put together a stable majority to continue down this road," the official said, who refused however to say whether negotiations with Labour would resume after yesterday's setback.
Sharon said before the late night result that he would not be bound by the outcome. However another source close to the premier said in the immediate aftermath that he was now likely to call elections, which are not scheduled to take place until 2006, within the next six months. – Sapa-AFP.
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