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Saint-Gaudens

Sharon wins by record margin despite 'unelectable' reputation

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Thursday, February 8, 2001

TEL AVIV — Likud challenger Ariel Sharon was swept into the post of Israel's premiership by the largest margin in the nation's history despite being billed as 'unelectable' only weeks before the election.

Sharon beat incumbent Ehud Barak by 25 percentage points. Sharon won 62.5 percent of the vote to Barak's 37.5 in the lowest turnout in an Israeli election, about 60 percent.

"The severance from the reality brought Barak to this catastrophe," Shlomo Avineri, a former diplomat and leading Israeli strategist, said. "I think when Ehud Barak writes his memoirs, he will ask himself where did I go wrong. Until several weeks ago, Sharon was regarded as unelectable."

Barak announced his resignation from political life, saying his drive for peace was premature. His resignation — urged by many in the Labor leadership — opened the way for a succession struggle.

The Likud chairman, who ran on a peace platform, assured the international community that he will seek to reach a settlement with the Palestinians. Sharon received telephone calls from U.S. President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"The government that I lead will work to restore security to the citizens of Israel and achieve true peace and stability in the region," Sharon said in his victory speech. "I call on our Palestinians neighbors to abandon the way of violence and return to the path of dialogue and resolution of our problems through peace."

Arab reaction was largely negative to Sharon's election. Syria called Sharon's election a declaration of war. Egypt's state-owned Al Akhbar daily called Sharon the "butcher of Sabra and Shatilla," referring to the 1982 massacre of Palestinians in Beirut by Christian fighters.

Arab League foreign ministers plan to discuss the Israeli election in a meeting in Amman on Saturday.

Arab voters heeded a call by the Islamic leadership and stayed away from the polls. Only 18 percent of eligible Arab voters arrived to the polls, and one-third of them inserted an empty ballot.

The Palestinian leadership plans to meet on Wednesday night to discuss Sharon's election. PA Chairman Yasser Arafat said he would work with any elected Israeli leader, but his aides were less charitable.

Fatah leaders loyal to Arafat that the mini-war against Israel would continue. "Sharon is the last bullet in the Israeli ammunition clip," Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said.

Thursday, February 8, 2001


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