Vaccuum will be hard to fill, admits Arab world

Few Arabs were saying prayers for Israeli PM Ariel Sharon’s recovery from a stroke on Thursday but many feared that losing the strongman could set back peace prospects. Ordinary Arabs have never taken to Sharon, a man they have hated ever since he masterminded Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, during which pro-Israeli Christian militiamen massacred Palestinians in two Beirut refugee camps.

But many admitted the future of the peace process would be stormy, whoever leads the Jewish state. Arab analysts said Sharon’s exit would leave a vacuum with no obvious successor with the strength and credentials to move the peace process forward.

Lebanese analyst George Alam said: ‘‘Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas could be the biggest loser because he will miss the Israeli negotiator whom he knew and cooperated with.’’ Walid Kazziha, professor of political science at the American University of Cairo, said it could take some time for Israeli politics to take a new shape after Sharon. — Reuters