Israeli ex-PM Barak regains Labour Party support

Ehud Barak, the Former Israeli Prime Minister, who was ousted from office six years ago, has won back control of the Labour Party. He claimed victory in a leadership election.

Labour is the main coalition partner of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party.

It is now thought Barak will now take a seat in the cabinet, replacing Defence Minister Amir Peretz, who was widely criticised for his handling of the war against Hezbollah last year.

In his victory speech, Ehud Barak said it was the start of an arduous task to unify the state of Israel, and it was his mission to repair the people's faith in the country's leaders.