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November 26, 2004/Kislev 13 5765, Vol. 57, No. 13
Powell visits Israel, Sharon wins key vote
LESLIE SUSSER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - When outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Israel leaders on Nov. 22, he may have buoyed the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
After a string of embar-rassing defeats in his own party, Sharon's victory in the Nov. 22 election of key Likud officers raises the chances that he will be able to broaden his government and push through a promised withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip - though it's still not certain.
Likud rebels, who have been at the forefront of the campaign against Sharon's "disengagement" plan, put up candidates for three top party posts. Had they won, Sharon's political future would have been bleak.
"The message of such a victory will be that Sharon is finished," pundit Yossi Verter wrote in Ha'aretz ahead of the Nov. 22 vote. "It would be very difficult for Sharon to lead the Likud again in the next Knesset elections."
Instead, the victory of three people who aren't diehard Sharon loyalists but are figures with whom the prime minister feels he can work, improves the prospects for progress just as the United States and Europe prepare for a reinvigorated peace push.
The vote came as Powell arrived in the region to see whether new chances for peace have opened in the wake of Palestinian Author-ity President Yasser Arafat's death, and what the United States can do to facilitate elections for a new Pal-estinian leader.
On the plane coming in, Powell hinted that if the Palestinians make real efforts to stop terrorism, the United States would be ready to contribute $20 million toward Palestinian elections. On Nov. 23, the diplomatic "quartet" behind the "road map" peace plan - the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia - announced that it would help finance the elections.
Sharon told Powell in Jerusalem that Israel would do all it could to facilitate the Palestinian electoral process. He said Israel was ready for security coordina-tion with the Pale-stinians in the run-up to the elections, would allow Arabs from eastern Jeru-salem to vote and would allow full freedom of move-ment in the Pale-stinian territories on election day.
After talks with the new Palestinian leaders in Jericho, Powell said he had the impression that they were "committed to reform," suggesting that he expected them to take steps, such as fighting terror, to get peace talks with Israel back on track.
Clearly, the Americans want to exploit any chance there is to kick-start the deadlocked process, and Powell sounded an upbeat note after his talks in Jerusalem and Jericho. He spoke of a "new attitude on the Palestinian side" and "flexibility in Israel," and said, "there is enough for us to move forward now."
The Israelis also are upbeat. A senior Israeli in-telligence source told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that with the new Palestinian leader-ship there is a good chance for a "total change in Palestinian political culture."
If so, the Likud vote on Nov. 22 improves the chance that they will find an Israeli coalition able to break the diplomatic deadlock.
The question now is whether Sharon will be able to bring Labor into his coalition and create a firm political base to carry out the promised withdrawals.
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