Lining up to shake Sharon's hand

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By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
August 31, 2005

Once treated as a pariah and regarded as a war criminal by many national leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appears set to be given something of a hero?s welcome when he attends the United Nations 60th Anniversary gathering in New York in two weeks.

According to a report in the Ha?aretz Israeli daily Wednesday, Israel?s UN mission has been ?swamped? with requests from a large number of member delegations wanting to set up meetings between Sharon and their heads of state.

Among those applying are countries that have no diplomatic ties with Israel.

The price the Israeli leader had to pay for this new-found popularity was his recently implemented ?disengagement? plan that saw 10,000 Jews forced to leave their homes in 25 towns in the Gaza Strip and parts of northern Samaria.

Images of the expulsions and the subsequent destruction of those communities went around the world, earning cheers, applause, and congratulations from the international community.

The position of all the United Nations member states is that those Jews lived illegally on Arab territory and their removal was a ?courageous? step by Sharon.

World leaders are unanimous in their expectation that the August withdrawal was only ?the first step? Israel needs to take to try and bring peace to the region. The removal of Jews from Judea, Samaria and ?eastern? Jerusalem should follow soon.

Sharon plans to arrive in New York on September 13 and is scheduled to address the General Assembly two days later.

Israel?s ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, estimated that the prime minister will meet with 16 heads of state, including those from Russia, China, Britain and France.

While no meeting has as yet been scheduled between Sharon and US President George W. Bush ? whose nation is the primary sponsor and propeller of the peace process ? the possibility reportedly exists for such a summit to be arranged.

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