No Israeli public will support an Israeli prime minister who is seen as needlessly entering into a confrontation with the United States.

I don't think Mr. Sharon has given up his hope of achieving the ultimate post of prime minister. As long as he has these ambitions, I think he will be a danger to Mr. Netanyahu.

The situation is grave from an Israeli point of view, probably on the verge of an explosion. There's a consensus both in the security establishment and in public opinion, and among most ministers in the government, that Israel needs to escalate its response to Palestinian terror.

Sharon has reshaped himself as the ultimate centrist Israeli prime minister.

The issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners is very unpopular in Israel, and if he goes too far, he'll suffer more than by his failure to reach an agreement.

Psychologically, in the long term, this could have a very profound impact in the sense that Israelis are grieving for an Arab monarch or identifying with an Arab nation, something that's never happened before. I think, however, in the short term, if we judge it in political terms, it's not going to have much of an effect.