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- The Observer,
- Sunday January 26 2003
But while it is the cheapest place to shop on this side of the divided city, for many these bargains have come at a price. In the past five years alone, three suicide bombs and one car bomb have been detonated here, killing 42 people and injuring more than 300.
With this kind of atmosphere, it is little wonder that Likud, Ariel Sharon's party, is not bothering to canvass the crowds for support, even though it is only a few days before Israel's most important election in a generation. Jerusalem traditionally votes for Likud, and there seems little doubt Sharon is assured of victory on Tuesday.
Despite the financial scandals that have dogged the Sharon name over the past few weeks, the majority of shoppers seemed certain of their voting intentions and said they would be backing Likud or one of the religious parties that would support Sharon in government.
The overriding feeling seems to be 'better the devil you know'. Kobi Mashmush, 28, said: 'Sharon has the right opinion on the major issue that faces us, and that is the Palestinian question. He reacts in a way which is ultimately the best for Israel. It is not that he is tough with the Palestinians; it is my fear that anyone else would be less tough.
'If the Palestinian question was sorted out, everything else will fall into place. There is no simple solution to our relations with the Palestinians and in the meantime we need a strong leader,' he said.
Even before the election was called last year, opinion polls suggested that Sharon would win. Allegations of corruption against him and his family have caused a mere blip in Likud's support. Tending his stall, Amos Barnea, 45, is unconcerned about crooked politicians. 'Is there anyone in the Knesset that is not corrupt? We are all thieves,' he said. 'In the Torah it says that even a wise man may be a thief. I do not care if Sharon is a thief. I will vote for him because he has the most courage.'
Although Sharon has dominated the campaign, his party is expected to win only a quarter of the Knesset's 120 seats. To govern, he will have to form a coalition with two or more parties. The Labour leader, Amram Mitzna, has said he will not enter a Sharon government, which will force Sharon into an alliance with several religious and extreme-right parties. Many vote for these parties confident they are indirectly voting for Sharon.
Back in the market Gabriel Haimon, 32, said that he would be following the dictate of his spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yusef, and would vote for the religious party Shas. 'I am happy to vote for them to defend religious schools and kindergartens at a time when they are under attack. But I also know that they will support Sharon and everything he needs to do.'
Israelis are in no mood for Mitzna's message of compromise and negotiation with the Palestinians. They feel that Labour's last attempt at peace, under Ehud Barak, was a disaster and led to the past two years of violence that have seen more than 700 Israelis killed.
However, beneath the support for Sharon, there is fear for the future. David Grossman, a leading Israeli novelist, wrote: 'I am no longer confident of Israel's existence. I think everyone who lives here also lives the alternative, that maybe Israel will cease to be.
'Israel is in a coma. It derives from the fatigue of struggling with the Palestinians and a sense of hopelessness. We do not remember what there is to aspire to.'
A Sharon victory on Tuesday will be limited. He will ihave to unite with parties that are against any deal with the Palestinians, preventing any move that would increase security, improve the economy or endear Israel to the rest of the world.
