Sharon, Must Reverse Course or Step Down

In an unusually bold criticism, four former Israeli security chiefs warned Friday that the country is headed for disaster unless Sharon reverses course and moves quickly to settle the conflict with the Palestinians.

The warnings by former directors of the Shin Bet agency come a time when Sharon is weighing whether to accept a Palestinian offer of a truce that would not be accompanied by a Palestinian crackdown on the Palestinian combatant groups. In the past, Sharon has rejected such a plan.

Israel's security services are reportedly divided, with the military in favor and the current Shin Bet chief opposed.

The military believes a cease-fire is a step in the right direction and is ready to minimize operations, including halting targeted killings of Palestinian, the Maariv daily reported Friday.

The Shin Bet fears armed groups will use the lull to reorganize for more attacks.

Sharon hasn't made a final decision, Maariv said according to Netster News, but the outcome could well determine the direction of the conflict.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia wants to persuade the Palestinian combatants to halt attacks and then get Israel to agree to a truce. Qureia, and other leaders before him, have said they cannot order a crackdown for fear of setting off internal fighting.

Qureia formed a government earlier this week, ending weeks of political wrangling and setting the stage for a meeting with Sharon. Israel's foreign minister has said the summit could take place within 10 days.

However, the Haaretz daily reported that Sharon was in no hurry and would only begin consultations on the approach to the Qureia government after he returns from Italy next week.

Four former directors of the Shin Bet security service warned that without a peace deal, Israel's existence is in danger. The four - Yaakov Perry, Ami Ayalon, Avraham Shalom and Carmi Gilon - spoke in an interview with the Yediot Ahronot daily published Friday.  

Ami Ayalon, a left-leaning former general who directed the Shin Bet from 1996 to 2000, urged the government to act unilaterally and pull troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip, a position which Peri told the newspaper he also supported, Reuters reported.

''We are heading towards a situation in which Israel will not be a democracy and home to the Jewish people,'' Ayalon said, referring to birth-rate figures showing Palestinians will eventually outnumber Israeli Jews if Israel continues to hold on to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The four said that Israel needs to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip - areas Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war - even if it entails an inevitable clash with some of the 220,000 Jewish settlers who've built towns and outposts there.

The former security chiefs said Sharon's preoccupation with trying to halt attacks by Palestinians before agreeing to peace talks is at best misguided, and at worst a ploy to avoid concessions, including a freeze in Jewish settlement construction.

''For once and for all we have to admit there is another side, and it has feelings and is suffering -- and we are behaving disgracefully,'' said Avraham Shalom.

The views of the ex-Shin Bet directors and the army chief carry considerable weight because of their familiarity with the conflict. They are considered professionals somewhat removed from the heated political debate in Israel over how to settle the conflict with the Palestinians.

The former Shin Bet chiefs won praise from Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat. "It reflects the realistic policy required from the Israeli side,” he said.

With the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan stalled, a number of former and current top officials have questioned Israel's direction in a conflict that has lasted more than three years.

Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon said two weeks ago that despite the threat of attacks by the Palestinians, the military needed to ease curfews and restricted passage through checkpoints that have generated widespread anger among ordinary Palestinians.

However, political analysts believe that if Sharon is to continue his violent and oppressive measures against the Palestinians, he will eventually face a military insurgency in Israel in a near future.

In fact, Sharon only has two alternatives ahead; either to take a moderate stance on the Palestinian issue or, to step down voluntarily.

Although his past criminal actions could not be justified by any measure, his change of policy will definitely result in the reduction of the violence in the occupied territories, though.

But, experts in the field recommend the second choice. Because, Sharon’s resignation would at least save the Zionist regime from total collapse. Otherwise he will be toppled sooner or later by the increasing internal dissatisfactions.

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