416 • 20 THE GULF WAR AND THE PEACE PROCESSpoliticians felt were Barak's overly generous offers at Camp David. The
prime minister agreed to end his term early and seek reelection. His chal¬
lenger proved not to be Netanyahu (who had given up his Knesset seat and
hence was ineligible to run) but rather Ariel Sharon. Palestinians and
other Arabs were disillusioned with Barak but viewed Sharon as a war
criminal for his role in supporting the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres
and in other military actions against Arabs during his long military career.
During the campaign Sharon claimed to be the one leader who was tough
enough to bring the Arabs to the peace table. He defeated Barak by a 20
percent margin. Since the election did not involve the Knesset, though, the
Labor Party still held its plurality of seats there, and Sharon decided to
form a broad-based coalition, including Labor politicians such as Shim'on
Peres, who became his foreign minister. It would be hard for this cabinet
to devise a unified Israeli policy or to reach a prompt settlement with the
Palestinian Authority. The latter, still led by Arafat, was almost totally dis¬
credited among Palestinians for its corruption and ineptitude. Hizballah
and Hamas seized the initiative for the Palestinians by sending suicide
bombers into Israel and shooting Israelis in West Bank and Gaza settle¬
ments. Israeli troops repeatedly reoccupied the Gaza Strip, bombarded
Palestine Authority buildings from the air, and interned many Palestinians
without trial.
WHITHER ISLAM?The popular catchword of the 1990s was "Islam is the solution," even
though this fundamentalism has failed to solve problems in Iran and other
countries where it has been adopted. Muslim groups often deliver welfare
benefits to masses of newly urbanized Middle Easterners whose needs are
not well served by governments or older charitable organizations. The re¬
vival of some Muslim customs, such as the growing of beards by men and
the wearing of head-scarves by women, has spread throughout the Islamic
world. Heightened religious observance may well be a positive develop¬
ment in a tense region and era. But the issue is the combination of Islam
with politics.
In such countries as Jordan, where public participation in politics is
now encouraged, Islamist parties have won votes because of bad economic
conditions, disillusionment with the peace process, and anger at the US. In
Egypt, where political parties have proliferated but those based on religion
are banned, opposition to the policies of Husni Mubarak and his Ameri-