Likud chairman defects to Sharon party

Hanegbi, a minister without portfolio, was to call a press conference later in the day to announce his surprise defection.

He is the sixth member of the cabinet to split from Likud and join Sharon in Kadima since the prime minister formed his new party last month.

The move came amid reports that police are to recommend Haegbi's prosecution on charges of cronyism during his time as environment minister.

While the other five Likud ministers to have joined Sharon were seen as close allies of the premier, Hanegbi was regarded as an opponent of his controversial decision to pull troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip.

As the interim head of the Likud central committee, the party's main governing body, Hanegbi was to have played a key role in organising the elections to replace Sharon.

Party primaries are due to take place on December 19 and it was not immediately clear if Hanegbi's decision would affect the timetable.

Hanegbi's defection will be another major blow to Likud, which won 38 out of the 120 seats in the Knesset at the last election but is now projected to win only a dozen, according to an opinion poll published in the Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday.

The survey found Kadima was on course to emerge as the largest party with 39 seats, comfortably ahead of the centre-left Labour with 22.

A general election is due to be held on March 29.

Before the announcement, there were widespread reports that police were about to submit a file on Hanegbi to the state prosecutor, which contained enough evidence to justify pursuing a case through the courts.