accept the six cabinet seats offered in the new government. At the UN, a similar American proposal to Jordan on 18 December, explicitly calling for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, removed any remaining differences between Gahal and the Prime Minister, since they both saw this as a challenge requiring a blunt and energetic response. However, Gahal pulled out of the coalition in August 1970 after the government announced its support for the Rogers Plan. Although the government later retracted its support for the plan, Gahal did not rejoin the coalition. Before the 1973 elections, Gahal and several smaller right-wing parties (including its former breakaway the Free Centre, the National List (a small party founded by David Ben-Gurion after he had left Rafi) and the non-parliamentary Movement for Greater Israel) to form a new alliance named Likud, the Hebrew word for 'consolidation'. Although Likud failed to overcome the Alignment in the 1973 elections, it comfortably won the next elections in 1977, ousting the left from power for the first time in Israel's history. Composition Electoral results See also Politics of Israel References External links Gahal Knesset website Political parties established in 1965 Defunct political party alliances in Israel Zionist political parties in Israel Political parties disestablished in 1973 Liberal parties in Israel Defunct liberal political parties