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Sharon's Victory … And The Future Of The Peace Talks
By Sahar Kassaimah
08/02/2001
The victory of Likud leader Ariel Sharon in Israel's special election for prime minister did not surprise the world. For some time, opinion polls were predicting that Israeli voters would choose a new direction for their government.
The election outcome indicated impressive confidence in Sharon from the Israeli public, which dreams about national peace and security despite their oppression of a nation of people.
To his right wing supporters, Sharon is a war hero who will stand tough in protecting Israeli interests and in pursing "peace" without making any sacrifices on Israel's part.
This article will discuss:
· Sharon's victory and Barak's defeat in the prime ministerial election.
· The Palestinian Authorities' reactions toward Sharon's victory.
· The Palestinian people's reactions.
· The possibility of peace in the Middle East.
· The impact of Sharon's victory on the situation.
Sharon, who has built a reputation for flattening obstacles and for expanding Israel's boundaries, has pledged to never give up any part of Jerusalem. During his campaign, he told Israeli voters what they wanted to hear, "Whoever wants to keep the unity and wholeness of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, forever and ever, needs to vote for me. I will guard Jerusalem."
This vow and his promise to restore security to Israel attracted an overwhelming majority (according to exit polls broadcast by Israeli television, he received 59% of the vote compared to 40.5% for Barak), which now expects him to deliver.
Barak's popularity plunged after his resignation on December 10th, eighteen months after his victory over Benjamin Netanyahu. He mistakenly believed that his resignation would give him a renewed mandate; however, "the wind blows whichever way it whilst without the ships desiring it."
Now, the game is over; and Barak has been left out of the circle. Instead of strengthening his support, his strategy awarded his opponent his place. And it appears that he was the only one surprised - he dreamt of victory till the last moment despite the wide gap in election polls between him and Sharon.
"People who were angry at me are now realizing what is the real alternative, and they are coming back in tens of thousands every hour," Barak said before the results became known.
Barak partially owes his defeat to Israeli Arabs, a majority of whom are Muslims, who handed him victory in 1999 when they represented 18% of the electorate. They boycotted the February 6th polls to express their anger over the deaths of 13 Israeli Arabs killed during clashes with police in riots last October.
In an effort to win their endorsement, Barak had expressed his sorrow for the killing of the 13 Arabs. He appealed to them to drop their boycott and participate in the elections. However, their response was to mark their protest by voting with blank paper.
Barak, dogged by criticism for his failure to sufficiently consult advisors, surprised the Israeli public once again on Tuesday night by announcing that he was stepping down as the head of the Labor Party, and quitting Parliament and political life for a while. He said, in a choked voice, that Israeli voters were not ready to accept the price they will have to pay for peace. "We were ahead of the times, but the time will come."
As far as the reaction of the Palestinian Authorities to the election outcome, Yasser Arafat announced his respect for the election results and expressed his hopes to continue the peace process with Sharon.
"If we judge him by his history, it's dismal, and if we judge him by his campaign proposal, that doesn't give us much more hope," commented senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha'ath.
Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian Cabinet minister remarked, "Sharon may be brutal, but so is Barak; Sharon will offer, in terms of the peace process, less than Barak … What Barak could not deliver, certainly Sharon will not deliver… "I think that this exaggerated fear of Sharon or this exaggerated confidence in Barak - both are entirely unrealistic."
Marwan Barghouthi of the Fattah faction said, "Sharon is the last bullet the Israelis have; let them fire it."
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of the Islamic group Hamas, responded by saying, "The two men have blood on their hands." He vowed that Hamas, which opposes the Israeli-Palestinian peace deals, would fight whichever Israeli leader resisted their aggression.
The Palestinian people promised to mark the election with a "day of rage" to send a message to Sharon that their Islamic Jihad will continue, and increase. Clashes were reported between the Palestinians and Israeli police that left 69 Palestinians wounded.
" If he wants to open fire on us, we are ready," said Hussein Sheikh, a leader of
Fatah.
The people don't care who Israel recognizes as its leader because they feel that Sharon and Barak are both the same. "We have tried Barak, and we faced killings and suffering," said Raouf Barbakh, from Rafah.
They feel that the situation can't get much worse and have vowed to resist - regardless of who is head.
The questions we now face are: Is peace possible in the Middle East? What impact will Sharon's victory have on the situation?
Ariel Sharon is shaping the future of Israeli politics and the future of the Mid-East peace process. He has, however, to form a new government and he is facing a deeply divided parliament. When he proposed to Barak to set up a national unity government, Barak responded that Labor would agree only if they could reach an agreement as to how to proceed in negotiations with the Palestinians.
In his victory speech, Sharon maintained his promise to retain Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and his refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians until all attacks on Israelis stopped. He suggested that Jerusalem would be off-limits in future negotiations, promising that his government would concentrate on strengthening the city.
He has expressed an unwillingness to dismantle Jewish settlements on the West Bank, and has canceled any concessions made by Barak during negotiations. At the same time, he is asking Palestinians to abandon the way of violence.
It appears that Sharon's promises are the best answers for those who may still be fantasizing about reaching peace with him; however, it doesn't necessarily follow that his victory will have a total impact on the situation or that he is the only obstacle to the peace process.
Sharon is really hated throughout the Arab world for his role in the 1982 massacres in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps, but there is no genuine difference between him and Barak.
They are merely two faces of the same coin; they both have Palestinian blood on their hands, and they both want the Palestinian people to willingly sacrifice their land, their souls, and their self-respect.
They both want to achieve their and their nations' desires over the Palestinians' oppressed body.
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