11 - 17 April 2002
Issue No.581
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 11 - 17 April 2002 Issue No.581 |
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The hawk's last cry
Sharon has responded to a groundbreaking Arab initiative by lashing out at Arafat, but he is the one in trouble, argues Abdel-Qader Yassin*
Why has Ariel Sharon responded with such unprecedented ferocity to the Arab peace initiative? The ink was hardly dry on the resolution passed in Beirut on 28 March than Israeli tanks were moving into Ramallah, de facto capital of Palestinian self-rule, and besieging Arafat's headquarters.
Remarkably, Sharon admits that US Secretary of State Colin Powell stayed in touch with him over the seven-hour meeting of the Israeli cabinet on the night of 28-29 March to discuss the Israeli government's reaction to the suicide attack mounted by the Ezzeddin Al- Qassam Brigades in Netanya.
That attack provided Sharon with a pretext to launch the frenzied assault on Ramallah and Arafat's headquarters. It seems that President Hosni Mubarak had been aware of Israel's intention to launch an assault on the infrastructure and symbols of Palestinian self-rule. That is why he advised Arafat to skip the summit and stay in Ramallah. But why has Sharon ordered the assault at a time when the Arabs have just made a groundbreaking peace initiative?
The answer is simple. Sharon was elected on a promise to destroy the Intifada within 100 days. It has been over a year since he took office (7 March 2001) and the Intifada is still going strong, exacting even a greater toll on the Israelis.
The Arab initiative is diametrically opposed to Sharon's mentality. The initiative threatens his popularity and may cost him both the Likud leadership and the premiership. If he accepts it, he will sacrifice his primary political asset -- namely, his bellicose posturing. If he rejects it, he will alienate both the Americans and his Labour coalition partners. And Israeli voters get nervous when US- Israeli differences intensify, for they know how vital US support is to Israel's fortunes. In this perspective, the assault on Ramallah and Arafat's headquarters is Sharon's way of winning valuable time.
Sharon knows that rivals are eyeing his seat. Binyamin Netanyahu, for one, hopes to regain the Likud leadership. Nor are Labour leaders averse to seeing his troubles escalate, for they would like a second shot at the premiership they lost over a year ago. The US administration, we must not forget, prefers to deal with Labour, whose leaders know how to clothe their iron fists in kid gloves. Sharon's open belligerence has placed almost unbearable pressure on US-Arab ties. The EU, too, is thoroughly upset by Sharon's intransigence.
The US administration, having voiced its support for the Arab initiative, is under an obligation to try and make it work. Sharon, unable to stifle the Intifada and incapable of rejecting the initiative, is throwing one last murderous tantrum. When he came to power, the death toll among Israelis was one for every eight Palestinians. Now the ratio is one to two, approximately. This is a grave failure for Sharon. Despite heavy Palestinian losses, and despite the show of force, the Israeli prime minister is running out of options. This is Sharon's last cry of rage, and he wants to take as many Palestinians down with him as possible.
* The writer is a Cairo-based Palestinian political analyst.
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