A setback to peace

Rather than apologise for past crimes, however, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu takes pride in them. That is why he appointed someone like Ariel Sharon as his top diplomat and the man who is supposed to steer negotiations with the Palestinians.

Sharon is not a peace partner: he is a murderer and a war criminal who was forced to resign from his post as defence minister after an Israeli court found him guilty of direct responsibility for the massacre of thousands of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila camps in Lebanon in 1982.

The man known as the "bulldozer" -- a reference to his insatiable appetite for the construction of illegal Jewish settlements in occupied West Bank territory -- stood by and watched as Palestinian women, old people and children were slaughtered by right-wing Lebanese militias.

Some analysts thought -- naively, perhaps -- that his new diplomatic post would force him to change his racist and violent attitude in dealing with Israel's peace partners. But Sharon chose not to disappoint the more cynical observers, expressing his opinion that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is a "terrorist and a war criminal". Sharon, having dropped a diplomatic bomb by announcing that he refused to shake hands with Arafat, remained true to form, declaring his opposition to the US peace plan that requires Israel to redeploy its troops out of 13.1 per cent of occupied West Bank territory.

Netanyahu, apparently, is seeking new ways to inform the Arabs that peace will be achieved only according to his agenda, and that they have no choice but to accept what he offers. Having accepted an offer that, only a few months ago, seemed tantamount to an insult, will the Palestinians now accept to negotiate with a man who regards Sabra and Shatila as a personal victory?