Peres makes unusual visit to Likud Party headquarters

JERUSALEM, Jan. 12 (JTA) — Opposition leader Shimon Peres this week received a warm welcome in unlikely surroundings — the Likud Party headquarters. The former prime minister was invited by Likud Knesset member Uzi Landau to participate in a discussion Sunday on the law for the direct election of the prime minister. Under the new law, the prime minister is directly elected in general elections. Israelis cast separate ballots for political parties in the Knesset. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly defeated Peres in the elections in May. The Labor Party chairman shrugged off any special significance for the visit to the Likud headquarters on Tel Aviv’s King George Street. “It’s part of a democratic process,” Peres told reporters.