Sharon Threat Seen as Major Problem

[Gimel]

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's threat this week to unilaterally separate Israelis and Palestinians, if negotiations falter, poses a new and significant challenge to U.S. diplomacy in the region, administration officials and analysts said yesterday.

While Sharon professed that he is committed to the U.S.-backed peace plan known as the road map -- which he has disdained for months -- the long-stalled peace initiative could well be buried by the steps he outlined in the speech, analysts said. In fact, Sharon significantly shortened the timetable for action -- "a few months" -- on a plan that is supposed to take effect over three years.

Sharon carefully hinged his support for the road map to actions by the Palestinians on security. But the Palestinian Authority for months has appeared incapable of taking those steps. The Bush administration, moreover, has limited contacts with and leverage over the Palestinians, particularly since travel by U.S. officials into Palestinian territories was restricted by a deadly attack in Gaza in October.

Officially, the administration pronounced itself "very pleased" by Sharon's speech Thursday, because he announced that he would take a number of actions to ease Palestinian living conditions and would dismantle settlement outposts. Sharon also signaled that he would evacuate some settlements and had come up with a formula for freezing the growth of the settlements -- important goals for the United States. One senior official suggested Sharon's gambit could well be the spark that reignites action on the road map.

But, in a sign of the difficult balancing act ahead,....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16526-2003Dec19.html

[comradebillyboy]

1. the split in likud on the territories

is about to get bigger. it looks like sharon has lost the confidence of the public to resolve the palestinian uprising. the idea of a unilateral pullout, taking most of the settlements with them is a good starting point.

the alternatives are an aparthide state or ethnic clensing of the occupied territories. but the power of the religious parties and settler groups to thwart peace cannot be underestimated.

[Gimel]

2. Elections

Shron has indicated that he is willing to take the issue to the public in 6 months time, if he hasn't the support in the present government.

It would be interesting. Another election with Sharon running for PM.