Sharon the Peacemaker?(Ariel Sharon)

The meeting left Asher Levy feeling hopeful. The 76-year-old retired general had come to see Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about building a war monument, but the conversation between the two men, who fought together against the Arabs in 1948, turned quickly to politics. Levy had not voted for Sharon and opposed his hawkish views. But he was struck by what the Israeli leader was telling him over lunch last June. Sharon said he was determined to strike a peace deal with the Palestinians and understood that Israel's economic woes would persist until the conflict was resolved. And he talked about a book they'd both been reading on Charles de Gaulle--Alistair Horne's "A Savage War of Peace." The book describes de Gaulle's stunning about-face--how the ex- general and notorious hawk pulled French troops out of Algeria after trying for years to brutally crush the insurrection there. Did Sharon see his own reflection in Horne's portrayal of de Gaulle? "I believe he did," Levy said last week. "I hope it's not just wishful thinking on my part."

Sharon's record says it is. After two years in office, the former war hero has managed to erase any evidence of a peace deal that once heralded--some would say naively--the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He's been helped by Palestinian suicide bombers and by his nemesis, Yasir Arafat. But Sharon--who now looks strong enough to stave off corruption scandals and lead his Likud Party to victory in elections later this month--has pressed his agenda with stealth, strategy and the military power that Palestinians lack. The first time he sent troops into Palestinian-controlled territory, two months after he formed his government, U.S. objections triggered a quick withdrawal. Today, Israeli soldiers control nearly all of the West Bank, while Washington quietly acquiesces. Some Israelis believe the reoccupation was Sharon's plan from the outset. "I have no doubt that he had this goal when he came to power," says political analyst Yossi Alpher.

In the waning days of a typically bitter campaign, Sharon's associates insist he's thinking about his place in history and wants peace to be his crowning achievement. Yet no one can explain how he intends to bridge the gap between his meager idea of peace and the Palestinians' broad demands. He has offered statehood to the Palestinians--but on just a fraction of the West Bank, chiefly the area Palestinians already controlled before troops reinvaded. With both sides locked in a violent cycle of attack and retaliation, and with the U.S. poised to invade Iraq, there is virtually no chance of a settlement any time soon.

In fact, Sharon shows no interest in substantive talks. Last week the United Kingdom held a conference in London to try to jump-start the moribund peace process, but Israel prevented top Palestinian leaders from attending after suicide bombers killed 23 people in Tel Aviv. The United States has crafted a "road map" toward a Palestinian state, but at the urging of the Israeli government, has not yet released the details. "If there were any hidden designs to make peace with the Palestinians, why hasn't Sharon moved already?" says Yael Dayan, a lawmaker from the leftist Meretz Party who has a long acquaintance with the Israeli leader. "I don't think he has the desire. That's the obstacle. And I don't believe he will after the election."

So what is Sharon prepared to offer? He says he's ready to gerrymander the territory to give Palestinians more mobility, and he believes that once Arafat is gone, moderates will be willing to listen. "It would be an interim agreement," says Roni Milo, a member of Sharon's Likud Party who serves in his cabinet. "The two sides would keep negotiating even after the Palestinian state is established." Milo says Sharon, long viewed as a hard-liner in his own party, has wrestled hawks in Likud to keep the door open to Palestinian statehood. He's consistently preferred partnering with the centrist Labor Party rather than forming a coalition with the far right. Even now, after Labor bolted and brought down his administration, Sharon vows to ...