8 - 14 February 2001
Issue No.520
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 8 - 14 February 2001 Issue No.520 |
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Sharing with Sharon
By Salama Ahmed Salama
Neither Barak's efforts nor the assistance offered him by some Palestinian leaders free of charge have prevented Sharon from rising to power -- notwithstanding the Arab Israeli boycott of the elections, based on the premise that there is no real difference between the two men. What Sharon endeavours to undertake in public, Barak contrives to do in secret: more than 400 Palestinians have been murdered during the Intifada, 13 of them Palestinians with Israeli citizenship -- a community to which Barak did not deign to apologise.
Western analysts see Sharon's return as due not primarily to the Intifada and Barak's failure in the peace process, but rather to the predominance of Zionist, imperialist-thinking political forces over their democratic counterparts. The shooting of several Palestinians after Sharon's notorious visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif aborted all attempts to reach a resolution. It also contributed to mobilising Israeli support for the hero of the Sabra and Shatila massacres.
Whether or not Barak's failure was due to the conspiratorial mentality that characterised his approach, it has facilitated a new coalition between the Likud and racist religious parties. The coalition also incorporates a large portion of the Russian electorate, headed by a man who recently threatened to bombard the Aswan High Dam. Sharon will probably try to conclude an alliance with the Labour Party and, even if Barak chooses not to join, Shimon Peres (who was treated badly under Barak) may well oblige.
If Sharon fails to conclude an alliance, he will no doubt create a small coalition of religious parties and racist forces, some of which feel the Palestinians' electricity and water supplies should be cut off, and Arab Israelis should be prevented from voting.
Yet nobody expects this government to last for very long. Many Israeli observers insist that Sharon will fall just as rapidly as he rose. A terrorist at the head of Israel will not serve the peace process, and could even drive the country into military adventures like the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Sharon's plans for peace follow the lines he suggested to the Palestinian Authority in 1999, as foreign minister in Netanyahu's government. His condition is that Israeli settlements remain intact, that the West Bank remain subject to Israeli security control and that Jerusalem fall under full Israeli sovereignty. Sharon does not mention the right of return or the reuniting of Palestinian families; he has also threatened to reoccupy the West Bank and resort to military power to end the Intifada.
What will America and Europe do with regard to this aggressive, racist government in Israel, when Sharon begins to orchestrate the massacres he plans? What will the Arabs do when their dreams of a "just peace" come to nothing and Sharon marches his boot-shod troops into Al-Aqsa Mosque, blockades Palestinian towns and villages and burns houses and businesses to stop the Intifada? What will Arafat and the Palestinian Authority do if they cannot cajole Sharon back to the negotiating table and pick up where the negotiations have left off? These are all timely questions, but the situation may well explode long before we find out what the answers might be.
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