World

Barak Calls For Israeli Unity

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

May 16, 1999 / 10:54 AM EDT / CBS

World leaders are hoping Tuesday morning that the election of a new Israeli prime minister will breathe life into the Middle East peace process, CBS News Correspondent Jesse Schulman reports.

Labor party challenger Ehud Barak unseated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in elections Monday. Television stations called him "prime minister" the moment the polls closed, reports CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth.

Hard-liner Netanyahu froze negotiations with the Palestinians. Now, Prime Minister-elect Barak is committed to getting them moving again. That was reason enough for droves of jubilant supporters to celebrate Monday night. Revelers poured into the city of Tel Aviv, electrified by their candidate's dramatic win.

Barak, 57, the country's most decorated soldier, swept to victory on a simple promise: that electing him would be a vote for change. "I hope we are at the first step for unity and change and new hope for Israel," said Barak.

With exit polls predicting he'd lost by as much as 17 percent, Netanyahu didn't just concede the election, he announced he's quitting leadership of the Likud party. "It's time to sew together," Netanyahu said, "what the bitter election has torn apart." And time for him to take a break from Israel's tumultuous politics.

Monday's vote capped a divisive five-month campaign fraught with ethnic resentment. The deeply personal contest between the former army mates seeped into a campaign replete with epithets like "liar" and "thief."

The weekend withdrawal of three marginal contenders had turned the race into a two-man contest, spoiling Netanyahu's hope of keeping his campaign alive another two weeks for a run-off.

But it wasn't only time that ran out for Netanyahu, it was also trust. He'd stalled the peace process in the name of security. But many Israelis felt that as prime minister, Netanyahu was more a fox than a hawk, more crafty than charismatic.

Political allies abandoned him, and support from the ultra-orthodox became a mixed blessing, with the majority of Israel's voters in an anti-clerical mood.

Barak's campaign called for Israelis to unite, not something they're known for. However they have given him something unusual in return, not just a victory, but a mandate. While it wasn't the issue on which the election turned, there's no doubt that jumpstarting the peace talks will be right at the top of the new prime minister's agenda.

President Clinton called both men after the election and released a statement in which he said Barak now has a strong mandate.

Mr. Clinton has been frustrated by Netanyahu's reluctance to implement the peace accord signed last October. Barak says he will meet the terms of the deal, which include Israeli troop withdrawals in return for a Palestinian crackdown on terrorism.

Palestinians, meanwhile, welcomed Barak's victory. "The message the Israeli people sent out tonight was that they want tmake peace with the Palestinians and that they want change," said Saeb Erekat, the top Palestinian peace negotiator.

Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat watched the TV broadcasts at his seaside headquarters in Gaza City and met with U.S. diplomats to discuss the results. "I respect the choice of this democratic election, and I give my best wishes to Mr. Barak," he said.