By
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM - An Israeli teen-ager confronted Ariel Sharon yesterday over his role in the Lebanon war, blaming the front-runner for prime minister for the shell shock her father has suffered from since returning from combat.
The public criticism by 16-year-old Ilil Comay, broadcast all day in the Israeli media, focused attention on Sharon's controversial past in advance of the Feb. 6 election - something Prime Minister Ehud Barak has attempted to do without notable success.
Sharon's quest to soften his hard-line image suffered another setback with an interview - given in November and published this week - in which he called Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a "murderer" and said hopes for a peace deal were nil.
As Sharon was campaigning yesterday in the southern desert town of Beersheba, Comay stood at a microphone and said her father still suffers from the trauma of the war in Lebanon, where he served in a tank crew in the mid-1980s.
"I blame you for causing my father suffering for more than 16 years. I do not think that you can now be elected prime minister," Comay said to applause from the audience.
Sharon, who as defense minister masterminded the 1982 invasion, noted that an earlier Israeli government first sent the military into Lebanon in the 1970s.
"If your father suffered and you suffered, I would suggest putting the blame where it belongs," Sharon said. "It's important to speak the truth and not to accept lies and incitement."
Speaking afterward on Israeli television, Comay said, "Some people say we are too young to know about the Lebanon war, but I think my nine-year-old sister and I know too much about the Lebanon war."
The invasion was aimed at expelling Arafat and PLO guerrillas from their camps and installing a pro-Israeli government in Lebanon. The campaign was supposed to be brief and decisive, but Israeli forces remained in the south for 18 years, losing more than 1,000 soldiers, before Barak ordered a unilateral pullout last May.
Sharon lost his job as defense minister a year after the invasion, when an Israeli government commission found him indirectly responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of Palestinians by a Lebanese militia allied with Israel.
His past, however, has not harmed him in the current campaign - he leads Barak by roughly 20 percentage points with the election just two weeks away.
Despite attempts by Sharon's campaign managers to soften his image, an interview published in this week's edition of The New Yorker magazine quotes him denouncing Arafat and the Palestinians.
"He's a murderer and a liar," Sharon said of Arafat. "He's a bitter enemy."
Arabs will never be reconciled to the existence of Israel because they regard the country as holy Muslim land, Sharon said. "You should read the Quran. You'll see what they think about the Jews. They want to take this land by violence."
Sharon has made similar comments for years, and gave the interview before he was officially a candidate for prime minister. The magazine is not widely read in Israel, but excerpts of his remarks were extensively reported in the Israeli media.
Political analyst Hanan Crystal said yesterday's developments could hurt Sharon.
"Together, they show Sharon may be more wolf than grandmother," he said. "Sharon is putting on this show that he is selling peace. It will have an effect on the undecided center."
Barak said the interview shows Sharon's true face. "He presents himself as a moderate grandfather," Barak said, but "behind the mask is the real Sharon, and you can read about it in The New Yorker."
Sharon has been involved in Israeli-Arab confrontations for more than half a century as a soldier and a politician. His pledge to take a tough stance with the Palestinians and offer few, if any, concessions appeals to many Israelis disillusioned with peace efforts after four months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators began a "peace marathon" in Taba, Egypt, Sunday, launching talks that could last up to 10 days. Neither side has expressed optimism about a comprehensive deal, but both parties said all the main issues would be discussed.
Sharon has said that Barak's government should not be negotiating on such crucial matters with the election approaching, and he has said he would not honor any agreements that are reached.
