Killing stalls Mideast peace effort

Zeevi, a career army officer turned politician, was eulogized by Sharon and others as a model Zionist who had contributed to Israeli security from its war of independence onward, including a stint as antiterrorism adviser to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Unmentioned was his vehement racism toward Arabs, whom he said should be "transferred" out of Israel and the occupied territories - all 3 million of them.

In an interview on Army Radio in July, Zeevi referred to illegal Palestinian workers in Israel as "lice" and "cancer." On Monday, he had announced his resignation from the cabinet because of what he charged was its failure to provide security to Israelis and the perceived left-ward drift it was taking under Mr. Peres.

Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, an ultra-orthodox legislator who sat next to Zeevi in the Knesset, said: "He was very strong. He wouldn't take a bodyguard with him. For him, not having a guard was part of living as an independent Jew in Israel."

Israeli officials hope the US will now halt the pressure for concessions to the Palestinians in the wake of the cease-fire, which was brokered during a meeting Sept. 26 between Peres and Arafat.

The Palestinians, for their part, point to Israel's continuation of its policy of assassinating Palestinian leaders, including the assassination of Hamas leader Abdel-Rahman Hammad on Sunday.

Ghassan Khatib, director of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center said, "Zeevi stands for the killing of Palestinians and the assassination was in retaliation for the killing of a Palestinian leader. It's difficult to imagine there would be arrests for this."

In the Knesset, Sharon called for "an all-out war against the terrorists, those who provide cover for them, and those who assist them." Sharon started and ended his speech by saying of Zeevi: "May God avenge his blood."

Yossi Alpher, former acting director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Sharon "will have to react in some way unless Arafat takes far-reaching steps." He added, "American pressure is a very important factor here, both on Arafat to punish the PFLP and on Sharon not to upset the apple cart."

But Leslie Susser, diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Report, said Sharon might use the assassination as an excuse to break out of the conciliatory path being pushed by Peres and Washington. "He may see this as a heaven-sent opportunity to break out of the shackles and to keep the conflict going at a low level," Mr. Susser says.

Susser predicted Sharon would now patch up ties with Avigdor Lieberman, another far-right minister who had announced he would resign along with Zeevi. Mr. Lieberman said yesterday he was suspending his resignation for the duration of the seven-day Jewish mourning period, a move observers believed might imply his return.

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