A Warrior Takes Charge.

the day after his landslide victory in the Israeli elections for Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon went to Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine, to give thanks and make a political point.

The former general and current leader of the right-wing Likud party made clear that he did not intend to give up Israeli control of the Arab neighborhoods and holy sites of East Jerusalem in any peace agreement with the Palestinians. Jerusalem, he declared, would remain "the united and undivided capital of the State of Israel, with the Temple Mount in its center for all eternity."

Sharon (shah-RONE) had made the same point in September, before the election, when he visited the Temple Mount, an area adjacent to the Western Wall that is holy to Muslims and Jews. Palestinians, who want control of the Temple Mount, saw the visit as a provocation. They launched violent protests that have mushroomed into an uprising in which nearly 400 people have died so far (see "Aiming to Die," page 18). Ironically, this violence helped Sharon get elected in February.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

The election marked a dramatic turn of events for the Middle East. Less than two years ago, Israeli voters had elected Prime Minister Ehud Barak in a spirit of optimism. Barak had promised to make achieving peace with the Palestinians his top priority. But when his efforts led to four months of conflict instead, most Israelis felt betrayed by the Palestinians and embraced Sharon's get-tough policies. Today, the violence continues, while the peace process is on hold.

Sharon has a long history of military and political confrontation with the Arabs, including fighting in every war since Israel's 1948 War of Independence. By comparison, it's as if President Bush had fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam. Sharon's role in Israel's founding, and his military achievements in the wars in 1967 and 1973, make him a hero to many Israelis.

But he has also been criticized for overzealous tactics and for several cases in which he was blamed for the killing of Arab civilians. As Israel's Defense Minister in 1982, he launched an invasion of southern Lebanon to drive out Palestinian guerrillas who had been using the area as a base for attacks on Israel. While he was successful in driving out the guerrillas, he also allowed a Lebanese Christian militia to enter two Palestinian refugee camps that were surrounded by his forces. The militia massacred more than 800 Palestinian civilians, and an Israeli investigation held Sharon responsible.

To Sharon's supporters, his passion and patriotism are just what Israel needs in a time of crisis. "Praise the Lord, the people of Israel have been saved from Barak," said Dalia Nahum, a celebrant at Sharon's victory rally. "The state of Israel will not be handed over to the Arabs. Now there will be peace."

But some Israelis, and most Palestinians, wonder whether Sharon's policies will really bring peace and security or only intensify the cycle of violence. Unlike Barak, Sharon says security, not peace, is his top priority. And while he says he wants peace, he offers a very different vision of peace than that of the previous government. Barak wanted to reach a final agreement that would resolve all the disputes with the Palestinians, including the future of East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a state of their own, and the fate of Palestinian refugees, whose families fled or were expelled from their homes in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.

GIVING PEACE A CHANCE

Last fall, Barak made an unprecedented offer to the Palestinians. He sought to give control of the Arab areas of Jerusalem to the Palestinians, to allow the creation of a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and to remove many Jewish settlements in those areas. But peace talks failed to bridge the gaps on the key issues of Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees. As the violence ratcheted up, Barak's popularity plummeted.

Arguing that a final peace deal is beyond reach for now, Sharon proposes a less ambitious settlement focused mainly on ending the fighting. He is willing to accept the creation of a Palestinian state, but only on territory that Israel has already handed over to full or partial Palestinian control in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sharon has repeatedly stated that he will not remove a single Israeli settlement from those areas.

Some Palestinian officials warn that Sharon's ideas cannot serve as a basis for negotiations. They predict grim days ahead.

"I want to reach an agreement with Mr. Sharon," says Saeb Erakat, a senior Palestinian negotiator. "But if he tells me he's not going to negotiate Jerusalem, he's not going to negotiate refugees, he's not going to negotiate settlements, he's going to hold on to 58 percent of the West Bank--we'll meet in the next life, Sharon."