World

Israel Gives Sharon Top Post

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 9, 1998 / 10:34 AM EDT / CBS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he will appoint Cabinet hawk Ariel Sharon as Israel's new foreign minister.

"Minister Sharon will be responsible for running the foreign policy of Israel, including the negotiations on a final status, of course in coordination with me," Netanyahu said.

He called the burly warrior-politician "the most appropriate man" to take the job.

"He brings a wealth of experience, creativity, and a proven track record. And I think he knows well the damage of war and the fruits of peace," Netanyahu told a news conference.

The chief negotiator for the Palestinians reacted with dismay.

"By appointing him, Netanyahu is telling the world he's cancelling the final status stage and that he chose the way of no peace and bloodshed," chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

But one senior Palestinian official said privately that the pugnacious former general may be the only member of the cabinet with the clout in Israel to pull off a settlement.

"This is a good thing for the peace talks because he is the one who can make tough decisions in the Israeli government," the official said.

Sharon was upbeat about his return to the forefront of Israeli politics.

"I believe that in my role as foreign minister I can assist in advancing Israel's policy which is striving towards peace while maintaining and protecting Israel's national and security interests," he said Friday through a spokesman.

In Washington, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said Sharon's appointment was "an internal matter for Israel."
"We'll work closely with the new foreign minister," he said.

Sharon, an ex-general in the Israeli army and a recognized war hero, was removed from office as defense minister in 1983 by an Israeli tribunal looking into the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which he largely directed.

He was found indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese militiamen in Sabra and Shatila, two Beirut refugee camps surrounded by Israeli soldiers.

He remained a key figure in Israeli politics because of his grass-roots support among hardliners. His appointment as foreign minister completes his political rehabilitation and might shore up Netanyahu's support among Israeli hawks as he moves toward an agreement with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu told reporters that he would present Sharon's appointment to his Cabinet next week before he leaves for a Mideast summit in Washington.

At the upcoming talks Oct. 15 near Washington, Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are expected to complete a deal that would pull Israeli troops out of 13 percent of the West Bank in exchange for security guarantees from the Palestinians.

Sharon is expected to join Netanyahu at the upcoming U.S. summit.

Until now, Sharon held the post of national infrastructure minister, which he will als retain for a further three months, but has wielded influence well beyond his portfolio as one of three ministers in Netanyahu's "inner security cabinet."

Netanyahu had held the foreign ministry portfolio himself since January, when centrist David Levy resigned in anger over the slow pace of peace moves and social issues.