Thursday, May 29, 2003
Sharon turnaround stuns Israelis
JERUSALEM MAY 28. For decades, Ariel Sharon was the hero of Israeli nationalists, pushing the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and blocking efforts to give the Palestinians land.
But the Israeli Prime Minister's conditional acceptance of a U.S.-backed peace plan and his declaration that ``occupation'' must end has left many Israelis puzzling over the ex-General's motives - and questioning whether he has changed his mind or just his tactics.
Theories abound: Mr. Sharon is trying to secure his place in history. He is trying to deflect U.S. pressure.
He is trying to avoid blame, assuming the Palestinians will themselves scuttle the plan by failing to stop terrorism.
``Maybe, he himself doesn't know whether he changed his mind or not,'' Yossi Beilin, an architect of previous Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, said. Commentator Hemi Shalev called Mr. Sharon's metamorphosis ``the best show in town.'' ``No one knows for certain if Sharon truly has become a born-again peace-seeker, or whether he remains the same old wolf in sheep's clothing,'' Mr. Shalev wrote in the Maariv daily.
The latest chapter of Mr. Sharon's seeming transformation began on Friday, when he reluctantly accepted, with a string of reservations, the U.S.-backed ``road map'' plan that envisages the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. Two days later, he convinced his hawkish Cabinet to conditionally endorse the deal.
On Monday, he faced down angry hardliners in his Likud Party with remarks that stunned many Israelis. ``To keep 3.5 million people under occupation is bad for us and them,'' he said. ``This can't continue endlessly.''
Mr. Sharon's use of the word did not mean he believed those areas were occupied, but that Israel didn't ``want to control the Palestinian people that reside in disputed territories,'' his office said in a statement. - AP
Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu