ET Sharon's son splits Israelis over secret talks with Arafat
By Alan Philps in Jerusalem

THE son of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who is used to working behind the scenes to promote his father's career, has become embroiled in controversy over his secret contacts with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

The two meetings between Omri Sharon and Mr Arafat appear to have eased decades of distrust between the two sides and have helped to promote a slight reduction in the casualty rate. But they have unleashed a storm of protest against Omri from his father's critics.

The far Right suspects that Omri's secret contacts are violating his father's promise not to negotiate with the enemy while under fire. On the Left, Ariel Sharon is accused of turning Israel into a clone of its Arab neighbours, where nepotism is the rule.

After the Attorney-General, Elyakim Rubinstein, declared that Mr Sharon's use of his son was unseemly, a lobby group campaigning for clean government petitioned the High Court for a ruling. Omri appears grounded for the time being, although his father is said still to be keen to use his services.

There is certainly a need for personal relationship between the two leaders: Mr Sharon, 71, has called the Palestinian leader a "murderer". Mr Arafat likes to say that the former general tried 13 times to kill him during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

Mohammed Rashid, Mr Arafat's economic adviser, told an Israeli newspaper: "In the short time I have known Omri, he has elicited great trust from me and other senior officials. He knows how to build good relations with Chairman Arafat."

According to the Palestinians, Omri was the first person they called when a jittery Israeli soldier opened fire on a convoy of Palestinian security chiefs at the end of March, an incident that could have degenerated into an all-out battle.

The Palestinians say that the messages they hear from the son are very different - and more agreeable to their ears - than his father's public statements. "Sharon the Prime Minister is a man from another age," said another of Mr Arafat's advisers. "He is out of place and out of time. But his son is very different. Relatively speaking, he contradicts his father."

This is grounds for deep suspicion among the Israeli Right, who have denounced the "foolhardy" contacts with the Palestinians. But the path first trodden by Omri seems to have opened up new possibilities.

The only Arab cabinet minister in the government, Salah Tarif, said yesterday that "secret talks, both direct and indirect" were under way and "major progress" could not be ruled out. Omri himself, a giant of a man who served as a naval commando, then trained as a lawyer and went into private business, has stayed silent throughout the controversy.

Since the death of Mr Sharon's wife, Lilly, he has become his father's closest adviser and is credited with smoothing the sharper edges of the old soldier's image. Mr Sharon told the newspaper Haaretz: "Without Omri I would not have reached the place I am today. Many years ago he told me that if I wanted to be in politics I must not see things in black and white. He had an extraordinary influence."

Many newspaper commentators - generally not friends of Mr Sharon - have developed an affection for his son, whom they see as one of the few hopes for ending the slide to war. As one said: "Better a non-kosher emissary for peace than a kosher emissary for war."

Israeli riot police stormed into the disputed Temple Mount compound yesterday to disperse Muslim youths throwing stones following Friday prayers. Two policemen were reported injured.

The Islamic authorities, who are responsible for the Muslim sites including the al-Aqsa Mosque, said it was a "desecration". But the Israeli police blamed the mosque guards for failing to control the stone-throwers.

Eight Palestinians were injured in other clashes with the Israeli army yesterday, including Laila Audeh, a reporter for Abu Dhabi television, who was shot in the thigh in the Gaza Strip.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001