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cials continued to insist that they
would accept nothing less than the
entire West Bank and Gaza Strip and
half of Jerusalem. Palestinian
Information Minister Yasser Abed
Rabbo told the Jerusalem Post that
the plan was just another means of
"legalizing the occupation."
"This is another form of the pro-
longed interim solution, which will
reinforce the present situation and
enable Israel to annex most of the
Palestinian territory," he said.
In his party briefings, Peres insist-
ed that Sharon was fully apprised of
the negotiations, despite the pre-
mier's initial protestations.
Peres was so incensed at Sharon's
lying that he reportedly threatened
to have Labor vote against the Israeli
budget. Failure to pass a budget by
Dec. 31 is considered a major sign
of weakness in a prime minister, and
can mark the beginning of the end
for a government.
The budget ultimately passed the
Cabinet on Monday night, but the
prime minister's about-face followed
the noises from the Peres camp.
Israel Radio reported that top
Sharon aides claimed they had been
"forced" to attack the Peres-Karia
negotiations in order to curry favor
with "other elements" in the coali-
tion.
Such accusations seemed likely, in
turn, to arouse anger on the far
right, which also threatens Sharon.
There is a steady drumbeat of sup-
port within the rightist National
Union-Israel, Our Home faction to
secede from the government, and the
latest Peres affair is likely to rein-
force that demand. Binyamin Elon,
the tourism minister and leader of
that party, demanded that Peres be
fired.
But it is from the left that Sharon
is likely to face his most serious
threat right now.
If — and it is still a big if —
Palestinian violence continues to
subside, and if Arafat continues to
convince American and European
observers that he is at last taking
meaningful steps against terror
groups, the onus will be on Sharon
to show that he is serious about pur-
suing peace.
If Sharon hesitates, the secessionist
pressures in Labor may grow too
strong for even the most pro-unity
elements in the party to resist.
Sharon's turnabout Monday
appeared ro avert the immediate
danger of a split in the government.
But seasoned observers suggested

that the tensions exposed by news of
the Peres-Karia negotiations had
brought a split much closer.

In-fighting

For example, Avraham Burg, the
Knesset speaker and a leading Labor
dove, called Monday for his party to
secede from the coalition at once.
Until now, Peres has been reluctant
to join the doves demanding secession.
The fact that he allowed himself to be
quoted Monday uttering such a threat
might indicate a sea-change in Labor's
internal balance of power.
Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-
Eliezer, who also has consistently sup-
ported Labor's presence in the unity
government, warned Sunday that he
would resign "if Arafat makes serious
and effective efforts to curb the terror
and the government ignores them."
On Monday, Ben-Eliezer told the
Cabinet that Palestinian attacks had
declined sharply.
Still, Ben-Eliezer was not yet pre-
pared to say that Arafat had made a
strategic decision" to rein in the ter-
rorists and prevent attacks both inside
Israel and against Israelis in the territo-
ries.
Further straining Labor-Likud rela-
tions was the row that developed over
Sharon's decision to prevent Arafat
from going to Bethlehem on Monday
to celebrate Christmas, as Arafat has
done each year since 1995.
Though Arafat and most
Palestinians are Muslim, the annual
Christmas celebration has become an
expression of Palestinian nationalism
— and an opportunity for Arafat to
position himself as the guardian of
Christian sites in the.Holy Land.
All the Labor ministers in the
Security Cabinet voted against keeping
Araft from Bethlehem, but Sharon
ignored them — and calls from
around the world — to relent. Even
Israel's president, Moshe Katsav, urged
the government to think again to avert
a public relations debacle.
The episode provided ammunition
for those Laborites who say Sharon's
goal is to destroy Arafat and drive him
from the region, even if the Palestinian
Authority belatedly cracks down on
the terror groups it has allowed to
flourish.
These Laborites say Sharon,
though ostensibly committed to the
Mitchell Committee recommenda-
tions — including . a settlement
freeze — in fact will do everything
to avoid reaching the point where he
has to implement them.

C C

