The Middle East peace process has been an uphill struggle for decades, and as prayers go out for the recovery of Israel’s Ariel Sharon, it must be said that his stroke has immobilized Israeli and Palestinian efforts to advance the cause.
Late Thursday, the Israeli prime minister was listed in serious condition. The same thing could be said about the prospects for his “land for peace” initiative that would build upon the successful end of the Israeli occupation of Gaza.
It’s not that Sharon is indispensable to the peace process. His persona as a hawkish war hero who later sought peace is hardly as unique as the “Nixon going to China” metaphors would have it. Israel has produced a series of war heroes who pounded their swords into plowshares after being chosen to lead its government – including Menachem Begin, the martyred Yitzhak Rabin, and Ehud Barak. That record reflects the strong yearning for peace within the Israeli public, an aspiration far stronger than any one political leader.
With elections in Israel scheduled for March 28, Sharon was busy not just attempting to win a mandate for his policies but to create a brand-new political party – Kadima – as a vehicle to pursue a moderate approach to peace. Sharon has already attracted some important allies, including former Labor Party leader Shimon Peres. But the party so far has little identity beyond Sharon’s own charisma and his commitment to land for peace.
“The man was the party, and the party was the man,” said Ephraim Halevy, former head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, Mossad.
The Palestinian side of the peace process faces confusion, too. President Mahmoud Abbas has raised the possibility of canceling elections for the Palestinian parliament, partly out of fear that the hard-line Hamas movement will wrest control from Abbas’ relatively moderate but politically weak leadership.
“On a purely humanitarian level we feel sorry for Mr. Sharon,” said Palestinian deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath. “Politically it will increase the uncertainty we are facing to get back to the peace process. It is highly unpredictable to tell what will happen.”
Israel’s government was functioning smoothly Thursday with Sharon’s deputy, Ehud Olmert, serving as acting prime minister. But more broadly the sudden leadership vacuum will require enormous effort to build on the effort pressed by Sharon, whom President Bush described as “a man of courage and peace.”
