All 38 incoming Likud MKs, including the 17 new ones, gathered yesterday for their first meeting as a group. One of the new MKs is Michael Ratzon, 50, who was a Knesset Member for a short time in 1996 (he addressed the Knesset just once before it dissolved before the Netanyahu-Peres election). Asked if it was true that only Sharon talked and the others just listened silently, Ratzon said,
"Not exactly. There were some questions - I asked one, and Mickey Eitan and Ehud Yatom asked, and Defense Minister Mofaz and Foreign Minister Netanyahu gave briefings. It wasn't supposed to be a conference, but it was held in a fine spirit; it was definitely clear that we have a Prime Minister, and that he's the head of the [Likud] faction."
Regarding the possibility of a conflict within the Likud regarding Sharon's support for the establishment of a PA state, Ratzon said,
"The Prime Minister told us that the establishment of a Palestinian state is not exactly his life's dream, but is rather part of a certain process that can develop. I personally very much hope that it will not develop that way, but I believe that he presented the issue very respectably, and he made it quite clear that it has to be approved by the government - and I assume this also means that our Likud Knesset faction must also approve it...
"I think that there is no contradiction between Sharon's seemingly-moderate positions and the positions of the rest of the party; his position has given him great leeway in terms of security. People forget that only two years ago no one could have imagined that we would be able to enter Gaza and Hevron so easily, sit in Shechem for three months, and really shake out the terrorist infrastructures. It also gives him great credit with Bush, and the Europeans have been silent - I think he's acting wisely in this regard."
"Not exactly. There were some questions - I asked one, and Mickey Eitan and Ehud Yatom asked, and Defense Minister Mofaz and Foreign Minister Netanyahu gave briefings. It wasn't supposed to be a conference, but it was held in a fine spirit; it was definitely clear that we have a Prime Minister, and that he's the head of the [Likud] faction."
Regarding the possibility of a conflict within the Likud regarding Sharon's support for the establishment of a PA state, Ratzon said,
"The Prime Minister told us that the establishment of a Palestinian state is not exactly his life's dream, but is rather part of a certain process that can develop. I personally very much hope that it will not develop that way, but I believe that he presented the issue very respectably, and he made it quite clear that it has to be approved by the government - and I assume this also means that our Likud Knesset faction must also approve it...
"I think that there is no contradiction between Sharon's seemingly-moderate positions and the positions of the rest of the party; his position has given him great leeway in terms of security. People forget that only two years ago no one could have imagined that we would be able to enter Gaza and Hevron so easily, sit in Shechem for three months, and really shake out the terrorist infrastructures. It also gives him great credit with Bush, and the Europeans have been silent - I think he's acting wisely in this regard."