Uzi Benziman

Who said that we lack a strategic plan? This is the question Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will pose rhetorically during a cabinet meeting scheduled for today or later this week and to be devoted to Israel's objectives in its showdown with the Palestinians. Israel's policy aims are to snuff out Palestinian violence, prevent a tailspin leading to regional war and preserve its special relationship with the United States.

It is not at all nice to see a top police commander with an embarrassed smirk standing in front of three grim state interrogators and saying: "I don't know, I never heard about it, I don't remember."

When David Ben-Gurion retired from political life, whether for an interim period or finally, he went down to Sde Boker and built himself a hut there. When Ehud Barak took leave of the public arena, whether for a time-out or for good, he decided to build himself a home in Kfar Shmaryahu. This is just one of the differences between Ben-Gurion and someone who had aspirations of being Ben-Gurion.

It is said of Ariel Sharon that he is happy in his position of prime minister - not only because of the sweet revenge of someone who had been ostracized for so many years and has now become a sought-after figure (almost) everywhere, but also because of the sense of sheer power embodied by the position.

The torchlight parade and peace rally scheduled for last night in Tel Aviv, like the wave of advertisements warning against a new war and calling for a joint diplomatic effort to end the violence, have brought back images from days gone by: an enormous desire for peace is welling up from the depths of Israeli society, together with a great willingness to pay the price.

While the prime minister declares to his interviewers that war is not in the offing, his ministerial colleagues are deep in expectations for the coming war with the Palestinians. "Preparing for war," is the standard answer now in the corridors of power to the regular question, "What's going on?" Ministers, senior officials and, of course, the top officials in the defense establishment and the IDF all say it. Given the current mood of the nation's stewards, the coming war is a matter of destiny,