The landslide victory of right-winger Ariel Sharon in the Israeli
elections opens a new and convulsive period in the history of the
Middle East. Barak's administration has been a complete disaster from
every point of view. Under the pressure of US imperialism he attempted
to reach a "compromise" with Arafat and the PLO leadership. As we
predicted from the start, the Oslo agreement broke down. The problem is
an insoluble one on a capitalist basis. Far from improving, the
situation went from bad to worse. The farce of "peace" has ended. The
Oslo agreement, already a stinking corpse, has now been officially
buried.
The Israeli ruling class were disappointed with the political results
of the September 11 terrorist act. Contrary to their hopes, the
American government did not include any Palestinian group on their list
of "main terrorist organisations". Just two days after the terror
attack in the USA, the Israeli military launched a brutal attack
against the Palestinians. This was closely followed by the
assassination of an Israeli minister, Rachavam Zeevi. Our correspondent
reports on the situation.
Alan Woods and Ted Grant take a look at the current situation
developing in the Middle East after the suicide bombings and the
subsequent missile attacks on Yasser Arafat's headquarters. The
US-inspired peace initiative seems dead in the water, as Sharon
virtually declares all-out war.