AL QUDS: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s iron-fist strategy has boosted his standing with Israelis relieved that suicide attacks are no longer a daily event, but analysts said his popularity may not last. They said support could quickly wane if the former general produces no long-term political strategy.

They added that Sharon had not outlined a clear plan to engage Palestinians in negotiations, a point rivals at home could capitalise on. At the same time, the campaign could still backfire if Palestinian anger simply inspired more attacks.

“(Sharon) believes in the iron fist, and for the moment, he seems to have proved he was right in as far as it comes to dealing with daily suicide bomb attacks in the street,” said Thomas O’Dwyer, columnist for Israel’s Ha’aretz daily.

“But you can detect a certain schizophrenia about the Israeli public. Whilst they approve, like any country, about rampant terrorism in the streets being smashed, they also still want to see a political solution here,” he said.

“Precisely because this was strictly a military operation without any pretence to present a realistic Israeli point of view with regard to a potential peace with the Palestinians, it failed,” said Israeli strategic analyst Joseph Alpher.

Some say Sharon’s real aim was to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and the 1993 Oslo interim agreements and stifle any prospect of a viable Palestinian state.

Few Israelis believe Sharon’s strategy offers anything except a respite of days, weeks, or possibly months. Some Israelis fear the devastation Sharon has wreaked in recent weeks will spur more Palestinian violence.

“By its very nature, it created new generations of Palestinian terrorists and generated new Palestinian motivation to pursue a terrorist path,” Alpher said.

Commentators speak of restlessness in Labour, a pillar in the coalition, as some supporters question if their party should continue to offer a “fig leaf” to Sharon’s hardline policies.

“Sharon is not the political leader that was ever expected to take Israel into any other framework. If that opportunity exists, in my view, the Israeli public will probably choose a different leader,” said Israeli analyst Gerald Steinberg.

Meanwhile, one man could still have a decisive impact on Sharon’s political future — his long-time adversary Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s two visits to Ramallah this month were a sharp reminder that even Israel’s closest ally does not endorse Sharon’s attempts to sideline Arafat — whose own popularity has risen during the siege.—Reuters