Uzi Benziman

The Lebanese attempt to divert the river's waters is a provocation because it has come two years after Israel complied with every letter of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, and withdrew its troops from Southern Lebanon.

The Arab Israeli leadership must adopt an alternative language and different course of action so as to put the brakes on the dangerous slide toward violent subversion that is spreading ever wider through the Arab street.

The manner in which the prime minister responded to the National Security Council report submitted to him last Wednesday illustrates in the clearest possible way the basic failure in his handling of the affairs of state.

In the wake of Operation Maybe This Time, Israel's leaders again cannot avoid the temptation to say that the long-awaited change is about to take place. So much so that the defense establishment has concluded that Palestinian leaders have realized the intifada has failed.

The previous government as well as the current one blindly believe that the best policy for Israel is to let the violent conflict with the Palestinians "exhaust itself," since it cannot be resolved by military or political means.

The term "victory" is becoming more and more mixed into the public debate on the conflict with the Palestinians. Last week, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said the Palestinians must not be made to feel that they have won the struggle.

Positions and measures that only two years ago were considered deplorable for any country that purports to be part of the family of civilized nations, have become commonplace. One of the main reasons for this is the desire to satisfy the expectations of the Likud Central Committee.

The real message sent by the Caesarea Conference, which drew to a close last Thursday in Jerusalem, was a consensus displayed by its participants: They all agreed the economy could not be rescued from its current stagnant state unless a dramatic diplomatic-security breakthrough comes about.

During the same week when IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz acknowledged to members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Operation Defensive Shield failed, IDF troops moved into West Bank cities, undertaking Operation Determined Path.

The government is heading for another military adventure and is authorizing reservists to be conscripted for it but meantime, Ariel Sharon's government leaves the citizens wondering where all this is heading. What will be the military operation's goals, what is its scope, and for how long does the government intend to carry it on?

What are the chances of the government and its leaders taking the necessary decisions so as to bring about the desired results? And who is gullible enough to believe that they will also determine reliable implementation and control tools so as to ensure that the necessary measures are indeed put into practice?

With time, it becomes more and more clear that the principal motive of Ariel Sharon is to avoid making any decisions that would fundamentally change the situation created after 1967.

Ben-Eliezer has a plausible policy plan, which he unfolded three weeks ago at a meeting of the Labor Party's central membership. The defense minister's plan proposes that a mix of the Saudi peace initiative and Clinton's program can suffice to end the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Something important can be learned from the interview with Ehud Barak published last week in the New York Review of Books about the outcome of the former prime minister's political steps.

The Labor party continues to serve as Likud's main partner in the government and to support policies enacted by Ariel Sharon, whose genuine purpose is to perpetuate Israel's hold in the territories.

Begin was an impassioned believer in the idea of Greater Israel; but he was also a disciple of the liberal-humanist outlook espoused by Ze'ev Jabotinsky. It is impossible to know how Begin would deal with contemporary developments.

Less than 24 hours went by after Ariel Sharon was forced to relinquish his intention of destroying Yasser Arafat's status before he came up with a new plan to achieve the same end.

Sharon is aware of the connection between Israel's security situation and its economic, moral, psychological and political situation. Nonetheless, he is unable to see the inevitable conclusion: There is no choice but to end the occupation and abandon the territories.

The largest military operation undertaken in the territories since they were occupied in 1967 is now coming to an end, and senior Israeli intelligence officials are already warning about the likelihood of upcoming terror attacks.

The average Israeli dove feels yet more despondent when he or she reviews the results of the Defensive Wall operation. The dove's forecasts were on target, and his or her expectations concerning the Prime Minister's judgment have proved correct - and yet it is difficult for the peace camp to pin all the blame for what has happened on Ariel Sharon.

The pending inclusion of the National Religious Party, with Effi Eitam at its head, in the government provides the code for deciphering the intentions of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The very definition given to the IDF's current "rolling" operation presages its results: it will not attain its declared objectives.

Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer remarked this week that every day that passes spurs 10 young Palestinians to join the army of suicide bombers. One of them, Abdel Basset-Odeh, proved Pesach Seder night how deadly and determined Palestinian terrorists have become.

The country's leaders are acting as if Arafat were a natural disaster, rather than a human being who causes troubles that can be confronted; as if everything were dependent on him - and nothing dependent on them.

Following the deadly attack near the Lebanese border, Israel finds itself in complicated circumstances that lead it to cautiously weigh its steps. It does not respond with anger to the infuriating violation of international law.