Israeli-Palestinian relations

By electing Ariel Sharon as prime minister, Israelis have effected a radical change in their state's policy toward Palestinian autonomy.

The outcome may cause profound changes in Israel.

Mr. Sharon rejects giving up settlements and abandoning control of the Palestinian majority beyond the Green Line, the unofficial border established by armistice in 1949.

Settlements remain important to Mr. Sharon because of the "security" they offer and their "Zionist value."

All claims that Israel will return to talks when there is a "final end to violence" are worth little. Mr. Sharon's "offers" fall far too short of those of his predecessor Ehud Barak to form a basis for negotiation.

Currently, the Israel military is continuing its destruction of land and people in direct breach of several legal conventions.

The leadership of the autonomous territory shares heavy responsibility for this tragic development.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat did little to allay the fears of the political right in Israel. He did not embark on a program of educating his nation for peace, and he did not disarm his Fatah militias.

-- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany