T he clection i Isracli minister has been seen by many as a turning point in the history of Israel, and as the definihye cnd of inepeace proSharon, after all, is reviled in the Arab world as the "Butcher of Beirut", rememby Palestinians for his part in many massacres over the past fifty years, and scorned by liberal Israelis as almost the devil incarnate.
The fallacy of such an apocview, however, which the Isracli Labour questionable past.
prodded by Nobel Sharon, Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres, declared its willingness to serve under Sharon in a "government of national Cries As foreign minister, Peres who until just before the David election was being touted by many as the "left" alternative Dayan, and to outgoing PM Ehud Barak, will have the task of justifying Sharon's policies interH Another Labour member, general Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, will be defence Ha'Avoda ( menting Sharon's policies in occupied territories. Accorains to tae crusaiem Post (4 March), "Ben-Eliezer ... intends to do away with the carrot and appointed stick 9. bring the Palestinians negotiation table".
Ironically, Sharon's will nating them. exploits of ment in Israel with an Unit 101 Arab minister Tarif, Labour's Salah minister without dered In an ominous slept. former general Rehavam Ze'evi, of the far-right Moledet party, whose entire policy is the "transfer" ie expulsion of all Arabs sickening brutality. Sharon was also None of this should come the Gaza a radical break from previous Israeli prime ministers: he is easy access political culture.
despite much nation he israel parts that he won the election because of, not despite, his One milisary man with a mutal past succecás asother as Prime Minister as poters tire of manortures and insubordination. should and frequently accused of remembered, is a product of leading his He was brought up in a Deliberately excluded from semi-collective village, his CORSICall sponsors were stall, prime minister originally as a supporter of Ben-Gurion Labour chief-of-staff Moshe Palestinians and the estabThis political lishment State Labour PM Yitzhak Rabin. This state, however, was political not to be in background. Sharon, Rabin's, Palestine", and his strategic was the activist goal in the 1982 Lebanon war was wing of the Palestinians Party, ASSOCH Lebanon and Palestine. and with the pre-state Palmab to overthrow the Hashemite shock force of the nascent regime, which replaced with a compliant In the carly 1950s, he was head of a new He army unit charged with pur- after be was elected, having suing Palestinian infiltrators been appointed Among the Rabin in 1975. this notorious haron's Was the raid on Qibya in Jordan, in which 70 civilians were murwere blown up while they troversy, in the which one of his aides comUnder Sharon's command, mented: the unit carried out scores "When (Sharon) was more raids in Jordan and appointed chief-of-stal Egypt, some characterised by said that those who did not want him would get him as defence ble for the "pacification" of minister.
refugee camps in "Now I say that those who 1970-1. His troops bulldozed scores of homes to provide ninister will get him for tanks, and prime minister". His role during the 1982 against suspected Lebanon war is well docu PLO members; an unknown mented, as is his subsequent number of Palestinians died resignation after an official as a result of his exploits. enquiry found rectly resonsible for the was noted for his adventur- murder Palestinian refuges in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee troops into camps in Beirut.
All of this is, of course, well known to the Isracli elecchief-ofentered politics, they have shown their disdain for international opinion and toeir contempt for Barak's political of a Palestinian B arak lost the elecbecause, Palestine; for . the space of eigh "Jordan teen months, had managed alienate a large part of his remove constituency. When from both lected, he gained 95% of the of Israel.
would be His first step was to declare that he would build a purely Jewish coalition, with the Knesser. special Like all carlier PMs, appoint cabinet minister. He permit1981 ted the police chief in Galilee majority) to conduct a cam. minister paign of harassment against sparkca a nuge con- Arab pontical activists, 1n course of the course of which several Knesset threatened with prosecution not for incitement. pogroms against Palestinian chief-of-staff billecus wnich 14 were killed with no investigation and no apology:
as acience Arab vole plummetca to a as reported 1% this time The unprecedentedly low turnoul shows that many Israeli Jews, too, refused to this choice between two warhim *indi- criminal generals.
Barak, who had promised hundreds of to bring peace, also lost much of the centre volc which he had won in 1999 offered "concessions" which, while far from suffiport, were viewed by many Israclis as too great. And his Russian immigrants, for instance, most of whom who nad backca Barak in 199% switched in large numbers to But Sharon's victory was not merely a result of Barak's Throughout the campaign, Sharon portrayed himselt as grandtatoeriy figure, who could make peace from a position of strength. M any Israelis, INU" lation and economic cost the beliered that Sharon would be a sort of Israeli De Gaulle, manoeu- talking tough while making the Palestinians in After all, they remember that it was Begin's right wing he to peace with Egypt, withdraw.
Ing from entire Sinai first and dismanting settlements in the process. This optimistic prospect, however, is no more likely under Sharon than it was under Barak. Netanvahu or Rabin. Until there is a change in he forces, no Israeli government will be prepared to offer the Palestinians will be able or willing to accept. Sharon, with eight Labour ministers in his cabinet, can be expected to continue the policies of his friends Barak and Rabin, though with his own styre wad approach. Inc combination of his "Jordan the and FICWN Le'evi's support for "trans fer" are of particular immediate concern. But it would be a mistake to view Sharon as uniquely evil. and to focus opposition to his well-documented war Sharon's positions are the development Israel's actions over the past than the personality Israel's current leader. are the source of the conflict.