An Israeli report in 1983 found Mr Sharon indirectly responsible for the massacre and recommended that he never be allowed to hold the position of defence secretary again. Noting Jewish Israelis' lack of support for shared sovereignty of Jerusalem, Mr Sharon will not divide the holy city as he sees it as a betrayal of Israel's past. He recognises that a Palestinian state is inevitable, but he will not negotiate with Palestinians until the intifada has ended. While Mr Barak offered a greater share of the West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians, Mr Sharon is adamant that he will not give them more land than they already control. The government, under my leadership, will act to restore security to the citizens of Israel, and to achieve a genuine peace and stability in the area.
Peace requires painful compromises by both sides.
I call upon our Palestinian neighbours to cast off the path of violence and to return to the path of dialogue and solving the conflicts between us by peaceful means. A government, under my leadership, will act to achieve genuine political settlements that will preserve the existential and historic needs of Israel, which will be based on mutual respect and mutual security. The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, was noncommittal. Left-wing Israelis also voiced concern. Yossi Beilin, the justice minister and senior negotiator, called the result Israel's biggest gamble.