Israel, which has been plunged into a turmoil since last week
when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fell on a severe stroke, will
continue its domestic and foreign policies despite the slim chance
for Sharon to return to politics, analysts said.
Doctors at Hadassah Hospital where Sharon has been treated for
the past week said on Tuesday that the prime minister showed
further progress in his condition and was in no immediate danger to
his life following the massive stroke and cerebral hemorrhage last
Wednesday.
But they urged patience with Sharon's recovery, saying it will
take a few more days to assess the exact extent of damage to his
brain.
Medical experts say that whether or not the ex-general survives,
he is rather unlikely to resume duties.
Many analysts, however, believe that the absence of Sharon from
office will not lead to drastic changes in Israel's policies in
general.
Ra'anan Gissin, senior advisor of Sharon, told Xinhua that since
the prime minister's policy on national security and democratic
society was not only widely embraced by the centrist Kadima party
he founded two months ago, but also recognized by a majority of the
nation, Kadima will continue his policies in the run-up to the
March 28 general elections.
Gissin said that as the Jewish people have waded through many
crises and difficulties over a long period of time in history, they
are strong enough to survive this time.
On the economic level, Sharon's economic advisor Iyal Arad
believed that the upturn of Israel's economy will remain unchanged
in the near future despite that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opened
with a 6 percent drop on Jan. 4, the day when Sharon was
hospitalized.
In Arad's opinion, Israel's economy has been proved to be "very
strong" as the country enjoyed a 5.2 percent growth in 2005 with
the unemployment rate under 8 percent.
All the signs showed a smooth improvement of the economy, said
Arad, adding that steady growth will be the trend for economic
development in the coming years.
As for security policies, Ya'akov Amidror, former director of
assessment for Israeli Military Intelligence, said that the
policies will remain largely the same at least before the March
elections.
"Israel has a complete system of security, with professionals as
its leaders. The whole system and people running it can only change
according to security concerns, not to Prime Minister himself,"
said Amidror.
Talking about foreign policies, Yariv Ovadia, a senior official
of the Foreign Affair Ministry, told Xinhua that a new Israeli
leadership might try to continue peace talks by seeking negotiation
partners on the Palestinian side.
But he asserted that no one in Israel could possibly follow
Sharon's bold step and further evacuate settlements in the West
Bank.
"Sharon decided to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and
the northern West Bank last summer because he couldn't find a
partner for negotiation on the Palestinians side," said Ovadia.
"No politician like Sharon has the courage, determination and
ability to do so," Ovadia stressed.
Therefore, the new leadership after Sharon must spend some time
establishing themselves in order to gain inside and outside support
and the new government is likely to return to the negotiating table
with a potential Palestinian partner, he added.
Nevertheless, the sudden grave illness of Sharon, who raised
fresh hopes for the Mideast peace process after his ambitious Gaza
pullout in September, cast uncertainty to the country in 2006.
"No one can predict the future of Israel," said Yiftah S.
Shapir, an analyst from Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv
University.
He cited that at the beginning of 2005, nobody ever believed
that Sharon, who was the center-right Likud chairman, and the then
left wing Labor chairman Shimon Peres would form a coalition in
carrying out the disengagement plan.
Shapir pointed out that new practical Israeli leaders should
seek for balance between ending occupation of the Palestinian lands
and maintaining stability.
"No matter who becomes the next prime minister of Israel, he has
to give priority to national security, economic development and
fight against corruption," said Shapir.
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer", Sharon has been the architect of the
successful Gaza pullout after 38 years of occupation of the coastal
strip. It is the first time that Israel quit land it seized in the
1967 Middle East War.
The move has won Sharon international accolade as many see him
as capable of bold steps toward settling the decades-long
Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The very possible absence of Sharon from the Israeli landscape
also put uncertainty to the March Israeli general elections as
analysts expect an open race among Sharon's Kadima party, the
center-left Labor and the center-right Likud.
But latest polls showed that Kadima would beat Labor and Likud
even without Sharon.
A powerful veteran figure that has dominated Israel's politics,
the ailing Sharon is certain to send major repercussions across the
Jewish state and the Middle East, analysts said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2006)
