He also said that his transition government will fight Palestinian militants without compromise. Sharon's announcement came a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber from the Islamic Jihad faction blew himself up in a shopping mall in the central town of Kfar Saba, also killing two Israelis and wounding 11.
An Islamic Jihad spokesman, Mohammed al-Hindi, said he believed his group had contributed to the breakup of the coalition.
"This is another achievement of the uprising, and this is another failure of the occupation policy against the Palestinian people," he said.
Polls suggest Sharon's Likud may grow somewhat stronger, but many observers are predicting the elections will be followed by yet another Likud-Labor coalition.
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