November 8, 2002. Copyright, 2002, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Key players in Middle East melting pot: Ariel Sharon, Israel
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, November 8, Graphic News:  Ariel Sharon, prime minister of Israel, is keeping quiet on the subject of Iraq as per orders from Washington. This silence is deafening, however, since the barrel-framed ex-general is clearly a key player in the drama unfolding in the Middle East. Since becoming prime minister in 2001, SharonŐs seemingly cavalier attitude towards the peace process and aggressive approach to the Palestinian intifada have won him enemies throughout the Arab world. Apparently unstinting U.S. support for his government (at a meeting earlier this year Sharon told Bush IsraelŐs relations with the U.S. had never been better) has caused even moderate Arab leaders to reconsider their attitudes towards Iraq. Many believe the U.S. is siding with Israel against Arabs, and that U.S. demonisation of Iraq is evidence of double standards. IsraelŐs relations with the Palestinians may have sunk to a new low but the latterŐs hatred of Sharon has been festering since 1982, when as defence minister he allowed Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia to storm two Palestinian camps and kill between 700-800 refugees. Sharon has a reputation as a military commander of some prowess in conflicts such as the 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. His reflexive response to trouble is a military one, and this emphasis on security has won him support among ordinary Israelis weary of the suicide bombers. Sharon, whose nickname is the ŇBulldozerÓ, backs a U.S. strike on Iraq and has said that Israel will retaliate if it takes a direct swipe from Saddam. For now his more pressing problem is to stay in power following the collapse of his always-fragile coalition government. He has called elections in January, nine months ahead of schedule, but his strongest challenge is likely to come from his own Likud party, with arch-rival Binyamin Netanyahu, the new foreign minister, doing all he can to seize power from the veteran Sharon.
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