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If the withdrawal from Lebanon were under way, it might be said that last week's soul searching marked an ending of sorts to the most unpopular war in Israel's history. But this is not true. The troop-withdrawal talks remain deadlocked, and relations with the U.S. are as strained as they have ever been. Nor is it clear whether the mere transfer from one Cabinet post to another of Ariel Sharon is an appropriate response to the recommendations of a commission that was investigating a terrible crime. Presumably Menachem Begin has been somewhat weakened by the report and by the events of the past eight months. But so far he has managed to hold his government together.
With the support of Israel's growing population of Sephardic Jews, who favor his aggressive policies, Begin remains the odds-on candidate to win the next elections, whenever they may be. He could retire, of course, but driven as he is by the obsession that the West Bank must forever be part of the land of Israel, he is reluctant to trust the "divine promise" to other hands. The commission's report may have precipitated a "political earthquake" in Israel, but the extent of the aftershocks will not be known for a long time.
—By William E. Smith. Reported by Harry Kelly and Robert Slater/Jerusalem