Military

DATE=01/31/03

TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

TITLE=ISRAEL ELECTIONS

NUMBER=6-

BYLINE=JOHN GUCHEMAND

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS

TELEPHONE=619-2702

INTRO: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Likud party won big in this week's parliamentary elections. Now the question on the minds of many U-S editorial writers is what can be done about the continued violence in the Middle East. We hear more from ______________.

TEXT: The Christian Science Monitor writes that the failure of Mr. Sharon's Likud party to win a majority of the 120-seats in the Knesset shows how politically divided Israel is.

VOICE: Sharon will likely need to decide whether to put together a coalition from the left or right. If he can win over the Labor and Shinui parties from the left, he can fulfill a campaign promise to create a Palestinian state, and thus also help U-S interests.

But a coalition with right-wing parties would lessen chances for peace. His victory wouldn't mean much then.

TEXT: The Mercury News agrees that Sharon must "cobble together" a broader government, but emphasizes U-S President Bush's vital role in the Middle East conflict.

VOICE: The Bush administration is consumed by the Iraqi crisis. Yet it hardly can afford to miss another opportunity to have a meaningful impact in a conflict whose resolution remains vital to the security of the United States.

TEXT: While the Sacramento Bee takes this message further in suggesting that the only solution to the middle East crisis is with the intervention of the United States. The paper criticizes Sharon for his lack of peace negotiations.

VOICE: Less than a year ago he said his aim "is to increase the number of losses on the other side. Only after they've been battered will we be able to conduct talks."

That chilling note suggests that...innocent Israelis will continue to be murdered and innocent Palestinians will remain prisoners in their own homeland. Unless Bush abandons his own benign neglect of this nightmare, his larger Middle East policy may founder, whatever happens with respect to Iraq.

TEXT: The Washington Post believes that Sharon should be tested on his commitment to peace in the Middle East. The paper also writes that no serious initiative from the United States should be expected until the Iraq conflict is resolved.

VOICE: New aid to Israel may be merited on security grounds; but if so, it should be directly linked to U-S security goals. The administration and Congress need attach only one condition to the Israeli package: that it be disbursed as soon as a full settlement freeze is implemented.

TEXT: The Los Angeles Times, however, writes that with Sharon's recent victory the Arab world must recognize that Sharon and Israel are not going away.

VOICE: With the latest Sharon victory, other Arab nations would profit from following the lead of Egypt and Jordan in formally recognizing Israel's right to exist. That is a necessary condition for a Middle East peace, and there is no longer any point in waiting for Sharon to leave.

TEXT: And with that opinion from the Los Angeles Times we conclude this U-S opinion roundup.

NEB/JG/KBK