Issue No. 611
Opinion
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
7 - 13 November 2002 Issue No. 611 Opinion |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
The dark tunnel
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is trying to keep his government alive regardless of the cost that must be paid. He had to accept Binyamin Netanyahu's offer to serve as foreign minister in return for holding early elections. Sharon wanted Netanyahu to come on board not only to fill the empty post in his government but also to neutralise him as a possible rival candidate for the position of prime minister.
Sharon will probably now try to co-opt the extreme right-wing parties at any price in a desperate attempt to secure the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in office. And this is a terrifying prospect, for these parties are not going to do anything for free. They will demand that the Israeli government become even more extreme. The far-right in Israel does not want to see a solution to the conflict, and many, unbelievably, believe that Sharon is too soft on the Palestinians.
One example is Yisrael Beitenu. The party has seven seats in the Knesset and has repeatedly voiced opposition to Sharon's government. It would be odd to see it join the government under these circumstances. The only hope for people in this region to emerge from the long and dark tunnel of hostility is what Sharon had to concede to, holding elections early next year. These elections could spark a change in the current bleak situation and the stalemate it has lead to vis-a-vis the attempts to reach a political just settlement for the Arab Israeli struggle. Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: weekly.ahram.org.eg Updated every Thursday at 20.00 GMT, 10 pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
