Mr Ariel Sharon was sworn in as Israel's prime minister tonight after parliament voted its approval of a unity government which he pledged would restore security for Israelis shaken by a Palestinian uprising.
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Mr Ariel Sharon
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He was sworn in straight after the 120-seat Knesset approved his government, voting 72 in favour to 21 against, with no abstentions. Not all Knesset members were present for the vote.
The former general took the oath of office in parliament with his hand on a Bible, a departure from inaugurations of the past and an apparent nod to Jewish religious factions in his seven-party governing coalition.
Mr Sharon told the legislature earlier his government's supreme mission would be to wage a determined struggle against violence and terror and return a sense of security to the country.
Elected by a landslide over MrEhud Barak a month ago, Mr Sharon, 73, has sewn together a coalition controlling at least 73 seats in the Knesset, linking the centre-left Labour Party with ultra-nationalist blocs.