Ehud Barak, who in June 1997 had…

Ehud Barak, who in June 1997 had become head of the Labor Party, promises on March 1 to bring Israeli soldiers home from southern Lebanon by June 2000, in the run-up to the 1999 election.

He says he hopes to end the unpopular seventeen year-long war through an agreement with Syria but indicates that he will stick to the deadline even if such an agreement fails to materialize.

He runs for prime minister under the coalition One Israel, which includes his secular and mainly Ashkenazi Labor as well as David Levy's Sephardi Gesher Party and the left-leaning Orthodox Meimad, the latter a spin-off of the National Religious Party.

Barak emphasizes economic and other domestic issues, including education and health services, as well as relations with the Palestinians and with Syria and Lebanon.