Artículo de Aluf Benn en "Ha´a retz" del 18-11-02

The embrace of U.S. President George W. Bush is Ariel Sharon's chief asset as he vies for another term of office as prime minister. Sharon is finding it hard to show any achievements during his 20 months in power, whether in the field of security or the economy, and even his national union government has collapsed. The only card left in his hand is the diplomatic card, as personified by Israel's good relations with the White House, and all of Sharon's campaign revolves around it.

Sharon and his cronies are now asking the voters for an extended period of grace, and are promising that next year will be the year that counts. All of their hopes and expectations are pointed toward Washington: an American attack on Iraq is seen as the lever which can extricate Israel from its economic, security and social quagmire.

High hopes

It is hoped that the removal of Saddam Hussein from power will set in motion a `domino effect,' will end the Palestinian Intifada, bring about the end of Yasser Arafat's regime and eradicate the threat to Israel from Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. Billions of dollars in aid from the United States will raise the Israeli economy from the depths to which it has sunk.

Sharon is also using the support he enjoys from the United States to repel pressure from those to his right - who also have to face the electorate and who are calling for a stronger response to Palestinian terror. This is the time to help out our American friends in their campaign against Iraq, says Sharon, and to avoid escalation at all costs.

Sharon's personal diplomat, national security adviser Efraim Halevy, said in recent interviews that the coming 12 months will be "the most crucial in the history of Israel," and promised, without specifying how, that "one way or another, Arafat will disappear." It is almost inconceivable how a dedicated public servant like Halevy could contribute so openly to the prime minister's election campaign. But Halevy's professional opinion does strengthen Sharon's position that Israel should sit tight and wait for American salvation, instead of expelling Arafat, as Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed, or talking with him, as Amram Mitzna wants.

Roped in

Bush's administration has been roped in to helping Sharon, by accepting his request to freeze all progress on the `road map' until after the elections. Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, persuaded National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, to delay Israel's response to the proposals contained in the `road map,' in order to be sure that the response was not influenced by the ballot box.
Thus, Sharon succeeded in removing the diplomatic issue from the election agenda, thereby ensuring that he does not give away his position during the heat of the contest with his challengers. The Americans - apparently believing that Sharon will be victorious both on November 28, when Likud elects a new leader (or re-elects its old one), and two months later, when Israeli go to the polls - prefer to bide their time and only renew the diplomatic talks after the elections, rather than put any pressure on Sharon at this stage.