Hindsight wisdom

Hindsight wisdom

By Uzi Benziman



Like the annoying guest who knows it's time to
leave only when shown the door, while boasting
that for him a nod is as good as a wink, Sharon's
cabinet realizes every time too late that its
positions vis-a-vis the Palestinians were askew.
The retroactive insight does not spare the cabinet
from making the next mistake.



Once, Ariel Sharon set the
Palestinian Authority a
condition of 30 days of quiet
before beginning discussions
of a formal cease-fire (the
Tenet plan). Then he lowered
the price to seven days.
Circumstances proved that the
Israeli approach does not
bring the desired results and

Sharon ordered the IDF to return to West Bank
cities, assuming that smashing Yasser Arafat's
symbols of power will yield the desired change.
Today the defense establishment is grumbling
that the ongoing terrorism derives from the
collapse of the central government in the
Palestinian Authority, warning that soon Israel
will have to assume responsibility for managing
the territories again.

Today Sharon and his senior ministers are
playing with the thought of putting up with the
election of Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) for
Palestinian prime minister and of reaching an
understanding with him on implementing a
cease-fire, without a formal agreement. This
enlightenment fell on the state's leadership
after it failed to read correctly the reality
that it strived to create with the election of
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

Four months ago, Sharon's government gave Abu
Mazen a list of conditions that he could not
meet. With hindsight wisdom, Chief of Staff
Moshe Ya'alon admitted that Israel erred in its
approach toward Abu Mazen and was tight-fisted
in its confidence-building measures. Sharon and
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz were angry at
Ya'alon's criticism, but hastened to adopt its
conclusions, as indicated by the approach they
are now forming vis-a-vis Abu Ala.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/361049.html