Tel Aviv - The Israeli opposition leader, Mr Ehud Barak, fired the first shot yesterday in his campaign to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of caving in to right-wing extremists on Middle East peace.
Mr Netanyahu said early elections appeared to be unavoidable, with his coalition torn apart by hardline opposition to ceding West Bank land under the US-brokered land-for-security deal he signed with the Palestinians at Wye Plantation.