Even Benny Morris, the renowned Israeli historian, has described Sharon's policies as a recipe for "an "apocalyptic, perhaps nuclear, war" or an "Armageddon," Tueni said.
Morris and his likes have not called for Ariel Sharon's ouster, "but we ought to do so on his behalf and reject any bargaining with Sharon, instead of sending signals of peace that would only bolster his position in power."
Tueni likened his call for Sharon's ouster to demands for Saddam Hussein's resignation to spare Iraq war before the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq last year.
But he wondered how soon Israel's "friends and Sharon's protectors" would realize the imminent danger he poses not only to Israel and the Palestinians, but to a Middle East region exposed to "a nuclear ignition that would spill over to its Mediterranean environs as well as Asia, Europe and Africa."
Sharon's "brutality" would "devour what has been spared of Palestinian land and people… in a repeat of the Deir Yassin carnage," Tueni added.
"There will be no return for anyone after the next Deir Yassin, and no vengeance for the original sin because the next one will be the ultimate sin," he said.
Tueni urged the Arabs– for once – "to gather courage and practical vision to alter what many believe is an inevitable fate."
"Sharon must be ousted before he eliminates every possible option to make war and peace equally legitimate."
Beirut January 27 2004
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