Asher Arian, an Israeli political scientist, said that for the last 10 or 15 years a stable majority of about 60 percent of Israelis has supported the basic positions outlined by Sharon.
"What we've lacked is a legitimate political leader to express these," he said. "Barak tried, but did not have the political coalition or the skill to pull it off. Sharon does, but he has to stay in power."
Where Barak sought a negotiated peace, Sharon, because of circumstance or design, is preparing for something else. "Peace is the wrong word here," Arian said. "It's some kind of disengagement, of breaking away."
Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister, reacted more positively on Tuesday to Sharon's comments than other Palestinian officials. Speaking to Voice of Palestine radio, he called Sharon's plan "good news," adding that he wanted "deeds, not words," and an Israeli departure from the West Bank after the departure from Gaza. "Then there will be a real peace," he said. "Otherwise the situation will remain as is."
But Sharon's disclosures indicate that he has something very different in mind. He is intent on preventing a withdrawal to Israel's pre-June 1967 borders, which he calls militarily indefensible, and he appears willing to give up almost all of Gaza to hold onto as much of the West Bank as he can.
Sharon, who helped develop the settlement strategy in Gaza, told the daily Yediot Ahronot that evacuating settlements was like "having to decide between one son and the other." He has made clear which son he prefers.
The Palestinian leadership and public would almost certainly not be content with the limited territory Sharon is preparing to concede. That means the conflict would continue. It is also not clear whether the US or other major nations will accept this unilateral approach.
Sharon made clear that he feared that deeper international involvement here might impose a solution to the conflict. By acting on his own initiative and sacrificing some territory unilaterally, he hopes to avoid broader, mandated concessions, his allies say.
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