Pressured to explain Israel's position after five suicide bombings in five days, Ariel Sharon addressed the Israeli nation and the world Sunday evening. He said that Israel was at war to protect its homeland, that Israeli restraint had been answered only with more terror, that Yassir Arafat was the leader of a terrorist coalition, and that the struggle to uproot terrorism would not be quick or easy.

The decision to address the nation came after Sunday's security cabinet meeting, in which coalition partners Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) and Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit (Likud) urged Sharon to speak to the nation on a continuous basis throughout the current crisis, to present an alternative agenda to the current focus on Arafat in Ramallah, and to lift the morale of Israeli citizens, battered by the daily suicide attacks.

Appearing ill at ease against a backdrop of books, Israel's Prime Minister struck a defensive tone in a speech that sounded recited or read from a teleprompter. Israel had made many concessions in the two weeks of the Zinni mission to achieve calm and the restart of a political process, Sharon said, acting with restraint in not responding to terror attacks, withdrawing troops from Palestinian cities, and abandoning the demand for seven days of quiet to promote a cease-fire. In return, he said, hitting his fist on the desk, Israel has received "terror, terror, and more terror."

Sharon reiterated the cabinet decision of last Thursday, in the wake of the Netanya bombing, declaring Chairman Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority to be an "enemy" of Israel. "The Israeli government decided at its meeting on Thursday to begin a wide-ranging operation to root out the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian territories." Only thus, he said, could Israel "reach a cease-fire, negotiations, an accord, and peace."

Echoing the ties that President George W. Bush had made between Palestinian terror and the Arab terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks on the United States, Sharon said that it was "impossible to compromise … with one who is prepared, like the suicide attackers on the streets of Israel's cities or against the twin towers in the United States, to die only to kill innocent civilians, children, women and infants -- to die in order to cause fear and horror. He said that behind the "coalition of terror" stood "one man," Yasser Arafat, who was not only "an enemy of Israel" but "of the entire free world."

Sharon said that "Israel stands at a crossroads of its history" and that while "the situation is not easy," the nation had previous overcome greater challenges. "This time, too, we will win, and when that happens, we will be able to live here together in peace."

Commentators were harsh in their criticism of Sharon's remarks. Danny Rubinstein of Ha'aretz questioned whether the intense personal focus on Arafat as "the ultimate monster, the liar, the cheat, the one who's fooled us all the way" would not further elevate the Palestinian leader as a martyr and hero of the Arab world engaged in a head-to-head duel with his Israeli arch-nemesis. He said that Israel risked the campaign in "a war over Arafat."

Some of the criticism related to the atmospherics of the Sharon speech, the ending of which seemed abrupt, catching TV anchors by surprise. Roger Alpher of Ha'aretz was particular scathing in his review. "After the speech, when he waited anxiously and impatiently for the broadcast to end, he threw a suspicious grimace at the camera, as though he wanted to say 'stop looking at me like that.' That's probably not how he wanted the performance to end, but Sharon is a politician who doesn't know how to lead via television. In the television age, this fact means that communications between the leader and the people are pre-programmed for frequent misunderstandings."

A surprise invitation to Bibi
Communications help, however, may be on the way. Sharon's Likud party drafted a formal request to the Prime Minister that he formally invite former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to become the government's official spokesman during the crisis.

Netanyahu's office, contacted Monday morning by Army Radio, did not rule out the possibility, noting that he had been unofficially representing Israel's case before the media for more than a year and had, after the Dolphinarium massacre, offered to serve the government in any capacity he was asked to fulfill.

Netanyahu is Sharon's bitter rival for party leadership, but the Prime Minister's adoption of a more assertive policy against the Palestinian terror infrastructure may facilitate closer cooperation. "Operation Defensive Wall," appears from initial indications to resemble the outlines of a strategy closer to the one that Netanyahu has long advocated.

Monday afternoon, Sharon called for a meeting to discuss the IDF's public relations policy regarding its activities in the West Bank. While Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Foreign Ministry officials were participating, neither Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer nor other security officials were asked to participate, much to their reported displeasure, according to Israel Radio. Netanyahu, too, was not invited.

However, following the meeting, Sharon telephoned his rival for the first time in what is believed to be many months. He invited Netanyahu to join the information campaign and "contribute his talents" to the nation. "I have no doubt that, at this hour, as Israel conducts a military campaign to destroy the terrorist infrastructure, Benyamin Netanyahu can assist greatly in our global information campaign," said Sharon. The two agreed to meet in the coming days to discuss Netanyahu's new role.

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