Ariel Sharon was, may be the past tense is not proper, is a bold politician. His single minded withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza strip, no matter how imperfectly done, represents a radical departure from traditional LIKUD ideology of not vacating seized territories. While his ruthless pursuit of Israeli interests earned him many admirers at home, the policy of targeted assassinations against Palestinian militant groups remains highly controversial. Yet his imminent sign off from the political scene bodes ill for the peace process in the Middle East.
Ariel Sharon, the butcher of Shatila,can hardly be remembered as a man of peace. Yet it is a sign of changing times that the same man whom even the Israeli Parliament holds responsible for the massacre of nearly 856 Palestinian refugees at Shatila in 1982 when IDF invaded Lebanon's today hailed by both friend and foe as a statesman who took the first step toward the two state solution envisaged by the "road map". The fact that he withdrew Israeli settlements from occupied territories of the West Bank itself demonstrates the courage of Sharon. It is doubtful if any other politician could have survived this radical decision. Only a tough, battle tested politician like Saron could have made this decision and pull it through in the face of stiff opposition.
In March this year there will be elections to the Kenneset. Sharon's Kadima Party is likely to do well as a large number of Likud votes will go to the new party. The fact that Ariel Sharon staked his political survival on peace in the Middle East should not be forgotten.
We can see the glimmer of hope on the landscape. If negotiations are held on the basis of the road map surely a new beginning will be made.