JERUSALEM — In a stunning upset, a little-known opposition lawmaker defeated former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in a vote in parliament Monday for president.
The victory of Moshe Katsav of the opposition Likud Party spelled a humiliating end to Peres' half-century political career and dealt another blow to beleaguered Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament Monday.
Barak beat back a challenge by those opposed to his willingness to concede land to the Palestinians in exchange for peace.
The vote came on the last day of parliament's summer session. While the vote itself was another blow to Barak's prestige, he will not face another serious parliamentary challenge until October, when the Knesset reconvenes.
A peace agreement with the Palestinians is due by Sept. 13. Barak acknowledged Monday that he does not command a parliamentary majority for such an agreement now, but he said he was confident the mood would shift under public pressure once an actual accord was presented to the Israeli people.
Peres had been the front-runner in the race for president and was the public's favorite. Informal opinion surveys had given him a two-to-one lead over Katsav, who never rose above second-tier Cabinet posts in his 23 years in politics.
The presidency is largely ceremonial, but the incumbent — Ezer Weizman, who was forced to resign because of fraud allegations — has used the prestige of the post in support of Mideast peace efforts. Peres, who led his reluctant nation to peace negotiations with the Palestinians in 1993, had been expected to turn the presidency into a platform for assisting the negotiators.
Katsav started his career as Israel's youngest mayor in 1969, when he was 24. He was elected to the parliament in 1977 and rose to tourism minister and deputy prime minister. Born in Iran, he presented himself as the representative of Israelis of Middle East origin.
Katsav won 63-57 in a second round of voting in Israel's 120-member unicameral parliament. In the first round, neither candidate received the required 61 votes.
Peres had counted on the support of many of the 22 religious lawmakers. When he was prime minister, his governments were consistently generous to the ultra-Orthodox, a chronically impoverished sector of Israel's society; in addition, Peres' wife, Sonya, is herself Orthodox.
On the other hand, the ultra-Orthodox have identified more with the Likud's foreign policy in recent years, and many see Katsav — who himself is religiously observant — as the more sympathetic candidate.
After the results of the first round were announced, Peres looked grim, trying hard to maintain composure as he walked past Labor Party members. Katsav said he was certain of victory.
Peres has had a topsy-turvy political career, holding nearly all of Israel's top jobs over the years, but also losing four of five elections for prime minister.
Peres served as prime minister three times, twice succeeding his longtime political rival, Yitzhak Rabin, and once in a rotation agreement after a deadlocked election.
In 1993, Peres was the driving force behind Israel's breakthrough agreement of mutual recognition with the PLO, and he negotiated subsequent interim peace agreements.
Peres' defeat signaled a blow for Barak's own peace moves. He commands the loyalty of only 42 Knesset members. But another 20 or so lawmakers have said they would not topple his government over peace moves.
The votes come on the last day of the Knesset's summer session, and if Barak's minority government survives the no-confidence motion — as it is likely to — Barak will be free to pursue his peace agenda unhampered by parliamentary maneuvers until October.
That would allow Barak time to build up support for the concessions to the Palestinians proposed at Camp David, especially on giving them some control over East Jerusalem. Barak's readiness to go to Camp David, Md., lost him the support of three hawkish coalition partners and plunged him into a minority government.