Israel's Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon was set to take power later this week after signing the key ultra-Orthodox Shas party to his coalition government today, officials said.
The deal gives Mr Sharon at least 64 seats in Israel's 120-seat parliament, paving the way for the 73-year-old former general to present his government for parliamentary approval as early as Wednesday, they said.
Shas, the third largest faction in Israel's parliament, will receive five ministries in Sharon's government, Shas spokesman Itzik Sudri told Reuters.
He said the 17-seat party would receive the Interior Ministry, the Labour and Welfare Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Health Ministry and a ministry without portfolio for Jerusalem affairs.
Mr Sudri said Shas decided to sign the coalition agreement due to the security situation, after a Palestinian bomber killed himself and three Israelis and wounded dozens more in a suicide bomb attack in the coastal town of Netanya on Sunday.
Sharon has already signed the centre-left One Israel party, which includes the Labour party, and the ultra-right-wing Yisrael Beitenu and National Union parties to his coalition.
An official in Mr Sharon's Likud party said there were still minor areas of disagreement to iron out, such as Shas's opposition to changing Israel's direct election law in the near future. The law has boosted Shas's power in parliament but has caused parliamentary deadlock and three elections within five years.
The daughter of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Dalia Rabin Pelosoph, will serve as deputy defence minister in Sharon's government, Israel television reported.
Ms Pelosoph's appointment would be the first time a woman held a senior position in the defence ministry.
Mr Sharon trounced outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak in a February 6 election with the promise to make peace with the Palestinians after succeeding at quashing an uprising that erupted in September in the wake of stalled peace negotiations.