Sharon, Arens in Bitter Quarrel over Responsibility for Warfare Between Druze, Christians in Lebanon

A bitter public quarrel has erupted between former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and his successor, Moshe Arens, over responsibility for the current bloody warfare between Druze and Christians in the Shouf mountains of central Lebanon from which Israeli forces withdrew only a week ago.

An angry exchange of barbed comments between the two men at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting was apparently sparked by Arens’ reported decision to reassess relations with Israel’s Christian Phalangist allies in Lebanon and to seek closer relations with the Lebanese Druze. (See story P. 1.)

According to Israel Radio, Sharon and Arens clashed again over the telephone this afternoon. Sharon accused the Defense Minister of masterminding an “ugly press campaign” against him. He told Arens he had made “serious mistakes” in handling the Shouf mountains situation and that Arens’ aides were now seeking to shift the blame on Sharon

Sharon cited a press headline this morning which quoted Arens as saying “I want nothing to do with that man” (Sharon) and noted that Arens did not see fit to deny it.

ARENS CITES THE ‘ORIGINAL SIN’

At yesterday’s Cabinet session, Sharon, a Minister Without-Portfolio, accused Arens of mishandling the redeployment of the Israel Defense Force in Lebanon, Arens reportedly replied that the “original sin” was allowing the Phalangists to move into the Shouf, a Druze stronghold, in the first place, a policy implemented when Sharon was defense chief.

Israel Radio said the telephone call today was initiated by Arens to invite Sharon to dinner. Sharon declined and said he “could not accept (Arens’) methods,” the radio report said. The sharp differences that led to the angry exchanges stem from Israel’s concern over the strife in Lebanon which escalated as soon as the IDF was pulled back to more secure lines on the Awali River.

Israeli policymakers can hardly conceal their consternation and chagrin over this development which, from Israel’s point of view, is unfavorable. They are alarmed by reports that hundreds or possibly thousands of Palestine Liberation Organization fighters are filtering back into the region vacated by the IDF and into the Beirut area as well, on the heels of the victorious Druze militias.

A PLO return to Beirut would be an embarrassing demonstration of the ephemeral quality of Israel’s victory in the long drawn out, costly war in Lebanon.

POLICY SHIFT SEEN

Sharon and other critics of Arens contend that the Defense Minister has tilted Israel’s policy away from the Christians toward the Druze. At the very least, Israel’s formerly exclusive support for the Christians has been diluted and there are reports of frequent contacts between Israeli officials and Druze leaders in Lebanon.

Sharon apparently feels that this shift contributed to the Druze military victories over Christian Phalangists and the danger of a large scale return of the PLO to the parts of Lebanon from which they were evicted more than a year ago. Arens is understood to believe that the Druze will not permit their victory to be exploited by the PLO for its purposes.

Israel reiterated its warnings to the Lebanese Druze today not to collaborate with the PLO. Mattityahu Shmuelevitz, Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, repeated the warning at a meeting with Israeli Druze leaders who support their brethren in Lebanon and obtained a statement from them echoing the same sentiments.

Nevertheless, Israel’s relations with the Christian Phalangists who it supported with arms and money since 1976, have soured. The turning point was the massacre of Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in west Beirut a year ago when the IDF was in control of Beirut. A senior government official was quoted as saying today, “The Phalangists burned us last year … Now we are looking after our own interests.”