A Warrior Takes Charge.

• Author: Greenberg, Joel
• Position: Ariel Sharon elected prime minister of Israel - Brief Article

the day after his landslide victory in the Israeli elections for Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon went to Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine, to give thanks and make a political point.

The former general and current leader of the right-wing Likud party made clear that he did not intend to give up Israeli control of the Arab neighborhoods and holy sites of East Jerusalem in any peace agreement with the Palestinians. Jerusalem, he declared, would remain "the united and undivided capital of the State of Israel, with the Temple Mount in its center for all eternity."

Sharon (shah-RONE) had made the same point in September, before the election, when he visited the Temple Mount, an area adjacent to the Western Wall that is holy to Muslims and Jews. Palestinians, who want control of the Temple Mount, saw the visit as a provocation. They launched violent protests that have mushroomed into an uprising in which nearly 400 people have died so far (see "Aiming to Die," page 18). Ironically, this violence helped Sharon get elected in February.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

The election marked a dramatic turn of events for the Middle East. Less than two years ago, Israeli voters had elected Prime Minister Ehud Barak in a spirit of optimism. Barak had promised to make achieving peace with the Palestinians his top priority. But when his efforts led to four months of conflict instead, most Israelis felt betrayed by the Palestinians and embraced Sharon's get-tough policies. Today, the violence continues, while the peace process is on hold.

Sharon has a long history of military and political confrontation with the Arabs, including fighting in every war since Israel's 1948 War of Independence. By comparison, it's as if President Bush had fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam. Sharon's role in Israel's founding, and his military achievements in the wars in 1967 and 1973, make him a hero to many Israelis.

But he has also been criticized for overzealous tactics and for several cases in which he was blamed for the killing of Arab civilians. As Israel's Defense Minister in 1982, he launched an invasion of southern Lebanon to drive out Palestinian guerrillas who had been using the area as a base for attacks on Israel. While he was successful in driving out the guerrillas, he also allowed a Lebanese Christian militia to enter two Palestinian refugee camps that were surrounded by his forces. The militia massacred more...