Israel prepares for leadership struggle

Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to challenge Ariel Sharon for the leadership of Israel after being sworn in as the country's new foreign minister.

There are also growing fears that he will take a much harder line on the Palestinians, including plans to exile Yasser Arafat.

While Mr Netanyahu, 53, known as Bibi, was taking the oath in the Knesset, many commentators wondered if the former Special Forces officer was hiding a political stiletto for later use against Mr Sharon.

How deeply he will try to sink the knife in will depend how the rivals get along inside Mr Sharon's cabinet in the run-up to their race for the leadership of the Likud Party next month. The winner is expected to emerge as Israel's prime minister in general elections on 28 January.

In the Machiavellian world of Israel's politics, his critics say Mr Netanyahu stands out as the most unprincipled politician of his age. Extremist settlers in Hebron, consider him a traitor. "I don't believe a word he says," said David Wilder, of the Kiryat Arba enclave. For him, Mr Netanyahu's greatest sin was shaking Mr Arafat's hand at the end of the Wye River agreement in 1996 which divided Hebron - breaking a promise to the settlers.

Since Wye, Bibi has become convinced the handshake was a mistake and that Mr Arafat remains dedicated to the outright destructionof Israel. In response to terror attacks which have claimed more than 600 Israeli lives since 2000, Mr Sharon ordered invasions of the West Bank and Gaza which included the destruction of Mr Arafat's offices.

But this has not been enough for Bibi, who demands Mr Arafat's death or exile. Mr Netanyahu's supporters believe he is committed to a Likud policy that Israel can never accept the establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza.

They want his hard line taken to its logical military conclusions. "The claim that we have tried all military means to end the terror is baseless. We have not even used a fraction of our military power," Bibi stormed recently.

Beni Aumann, a settler from Ofra, near Ramallah, said Mr Sharon had been "soft" on the Palestinians (who have lost around 1,800 dead in 26 months of violence).

Mr Netanyahu trails Mr Sharon by 38 to 44 per cent for the Likud leadership. But Bibi's uncompromising policies are likely to win more backing if Palestinian terror continues.

Less comforting for Mr Netanyahu is his personal reputation. While prime minister between 1996 and 1999 he was accused of doing a deal with the leader of the Shas Party, Ariyeh Deri, in which Deri would get a reduced sentence for fraud charges he faced in return for Shas' backing of Mr Netanyahu.

After he lost the elections he and his wife were accused of taking items from the prime minister's residence and other minor scams. He was never prosecuted over any of the claims and has since built a power-base among Jewish Likud supporters outside the country, especially in America.

A Likud victory in three months looks inevitable to many. Polls show a Right-wing Likud-led coalition could win 67 seats in parliament out of 120. This would end power sharing with the centre-Left and hail a tougher policy on the Palestinians.

Still, Mr Netanyahu is favoured by the Left. Professor Aviram Goldblum, a founder of the Peace Now movement, said he drew comfort from Bibi's "untrustworthiness".

"Bibi is unprincipled. He will do what he is told to by Washington. If that means softening his line on the Palestinians, then he would. Sharon has shown he'll stand up like a bull."