Enemies is more like it.
So plainly there was something more on the menu than stir-fried noodles when the two dined together recently with their wives at a seaside Chinese restaurant in Tel Aviv. For Sharon, who had served as Minister of Infrastructure, a post he will keep, the promotion completed a long rehabilitation following his resignation as Defense Minister after the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres of Palestinian civilians in Lebanon by the Israel-allied Phalangist militia. Though still reviled in much of the Arab world for his role in that outrage and others, Sharon over the past year has gained a reputation for honesty and reliability among Israel's peace partners. None of which explains why Netanyahu picked him. That meeting is aimed at achieving further Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West Bank, a move hotly opposed by Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies, who have threatened to bring down the government over the issue.