The Mind of Arik Sharon. They're also reporting that PM Sharon may be considering a unilateral seperation from the Palestinians, apparently involving the dismantling of outlying settlements, something along the lines of what Ehud Barak has been talking about for three years. This is an idea which, as anyone who’s been reading this blog knows, I think is a terrific idea, and, considering the impossibility of an agreement with the Palestinians at the moment, is frankly inevitable. I don’t know whether Sharon is just floating a trial balloon or if he actually is planning to go through with it. The main obstacle is the National Religious Party (Mafdal), which will likely bolt the coalition if Sharon starts dismantling settlements. Sharon might be counting on Labor forming a National Unity government if this happens, and might want to try and force the situation so it can happen before Peres is forced to step down as Labor Party Chairman, possibly in favor of the party’s loony Left wing. Of course, no one knows what’s going on in Arik’s mind at any given time, so the situation is, as it always is over here, dynamic.