Special report: Israel's General Elections

   JERUSALEM, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel's centrist Kadima party headed by Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the center-left Labor party reached a coalition deal on Thursday, sources said.

   The two sides are expected to formally ink the agreement at about 3:30 p.m. (1230 GMT), said the sources, without revealing details of the deal.

   A joint news conference is planned after the signing ceremony. Meanwhile, local newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported that the agreement was to be presented on Sunday to Labor's Central Committee for approval.

   Earlier reports said that Labor was likely to be given seven portfolios- the defense, education, agriculture, national infrastructure, tourism ministries along with two ministries without portfolio.

   On Wednesday, Kadima, which won the most seats in the March general elections, signed its first coalition deal with GilPensioners Party.

   Kadima occupies 29 seats in the 120-member Knesset (Parliament),Labor comes next to Kadima with 19 seats and Gil has seven.

   The two coalition deals will enable Olmert to command 55 seats in the legislature.

   Olmert was tasked on April 6 with forming a governing coalition which must have at least 61 seats in the Knesset according to Israeli law.

   The acting prime minister has said that he intends to put together a cabinet with 27 ministers, the largest in Knesset history.

   The new government is expected to carry out more withdrawals from isolated settlements in the West Bank but consolidate larger ones in absence of peace talks with the Palestinian side. Enditem