JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A well-known hawk appeared to spread dovish wings this week as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon abandoned his Likud Party, saying it is unable to lead the country to its "national goals," a move that triggered early elections here.President Moshe Katsav and parliament leaders agreed Tuesday to schedule the next round of Israeli elections on March 28.However, the president first must hold consultations with legal advisers and with candidates from major parties to see if any of them can form a ruling coalition, which is considered unlikely.Sharon announced Monday he was leaving Likud, which he helped create, to launch a new "liberal movement" that aims to "lay the foundations for a peace settlement" with the Palestinians, the prime minister said. (Watch what a former ambassador has to say about Sharon's unprecedented move -- 3:18)Despite the announcement of his new destination for Israel, Sharon said he will be using an old map to get there: the U.S.-brokered "road map" for peace. The goal of that plan is a "two-state solution" with a secure Israel living alongside a Palestinian state. More specifically, it calls for Palestinians to put an end to terrorist organizations and for Israel to freeze settlement activities.Monday's announcement will undoubtedly make an already tumultuous relationship with Likud hardliners, such as Benjamin Netanyahu, even more bitter. Sharon will be seeking his third term as prime minister, and the March elections are expected to pit Sharon as a centrist against Netanyahu, who resigned from Sharon's government after it orchestrated a pullout from Gaza.Sharon, 77, said that this year's military and civilian withdrawal from Gaza had created new possibilities for peace and he wanted to further "lay the foundations for a peace settlement in which the state's permanent borders will be set with the terrorist organizations being dismantled. This is not a new plan. I'm talking about the road map." (Watch how Sharon shakes up Israeli politics -- 3:14)Sharon will campaign under the banner of his new party, to be called either National Responsibility Party or Kadima, Hebrew for "forward." The early election date is expected to benefit them both. Overnight polls show that if the elections were held today the NRP would become the largest party in the Knesset. Who was going to set the election date, and how, became a contentious matter Monday when Sharon asked Katsav to dissolve parliament and call new elections. The Knesset quickly introduced eight bills calling on parliament to dissolve itself.The move in the Knesset was seen as an attempt by Sharon's enemies, particularly within Likud, to blunt Sharon's ample political momentum and delay the elections.Katsav was prepared to ask the Knesset to shelve that legislation so he could dissolve parliament by decree, but that sparked wrangling in the Knesset over whether it would be giving up its legislative rights to the executive branch.Katsav proposed a compromise in which he would sign an executive order dissolving the Knesset, and in return, parliament would vote on the date of the elections.After a series of meetings, Katsav asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to review a compromise with the Knesset leadership. Under the deal, the president would sign an executive order to dissolve the Knesset, and the elections date would not be determined by the decree.A spokesman for Knesset leaders said they agreed with Katsav on a March 28 vote.Sharon said that it would've been easier for him to lead Likud in next year's elections, but the party "in its current format is unable to lead Israel to its national goals."Israel Radio reported that Sharon had resigned in a letter handed to Likud chairman Tzachi Hanegbi. Sharon's decision to abandon Likud, which has traditionally won the support of Orthodox Jews and settlers, was unprecedented in Israeli politics.After resigning, Sharon met with potential members of his new party. Sharon could be joined in the new party by high-profile political figures on the left and right, including Finance Minister Ehud Olmert.