Sharon, Ariel

Sharon, Ariel (b. 27 Feb. 1928). Prime Minister of Israel, 2001–  Born in Kfar Malal, he joined the Haganah in 1942, and continued to serve in the military after the foundation of Israel. He graduated from Jerusalem Law School in 1962, and, following his service in the Six Day War, he became commander of the army's southern command. He resigned from active service after the Yom Kippur War, and in 1973 entered parliament, the Knesset. He served as an adviser to Yitzhak Rabin, and in 1977–81 he was appointed Minister for Agriculture under Begin. As Minister of Defence from 1981, Sharon was responsible for Israel's invasion of the Lebanon, which aimed at destroying Arafat's PLO. Ironically, this action elevated Arafat's status, and a particular enmity between the two men emerged. He was Minister without Portfolio (1983–4) and Minister of Trade and Industry (1984–90), and from 1990 to 1992, as Minister of Construction, he oversaw a massive programme of Israeli construction to settle Jewish immigrants in the West Bank. He entered Netanyahu's government as Minister of National Infrastructure. As Foreign Minister from 1998, he headed the negotiations with the Arafat's Palestinian National Authority. Sharon led the Likud opposition from 1999, and he bitterly opposed Barak's peace negotiations with Arafat and the additional protocol to the Wye Agreement that resulted from this.

Alleging that Barak was about to relinquish control of one of Judaism's holiest sites, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, he staged a well-publicized visit on 27 September 2000. Since the Temple Mount contains some of the holiest sites for Muslims also, Palestinians considered this a spectacular provocation. In the following days, the Intifadah broke out again. The renewed violence made the negotiation of a peace agreement impossible for any Israeli Prime Minister, and in a special election in 2001 Sharon was elected on his promise of toughness instead. The growing cycle of violence culminated in the occupation of Palestine by Israeli troops in March 2002. He also scored a victory against Arafat when the latter was forced to concede power to the moderate Abu Mazen. Nevertheless, Sharon faced strong right-wing opposition to any conciliatory gestures in the pursuit of peace. Left-wing critics complined that his hardline policy failed to protect Israelis from continuing violence.