Return of the Hawk?

By Matt Rees/Jerusalem

The doily beneath an espresso served to a guest at Benjamin Netanyahu's office still bears the inscription "Prime Minister of Israel." After Israel's Attorney General, Elyakim Rubinstein, decided last week not to prosecute the former Prime Minister for fraud, many political observers are betting Netanyahu will soon be able to order a new stock of those paper coasters. The man who 16 months ago quit politics after an electoral pummeling is now cast by right-wingers as the only leader who can prevent Prime Minister Ehud Barak from making too many concessions to the Palestinians.

While Netanyahu had behaved with "ugliness," said Rubinstein, he did not want to risk a courtroom failure trying to prove the ex-PM attempted to bilk the state of as much as $100,000 in private services he got from a contractor. Nor would the state follow up on accusations that upon leaving office, he pinched hundreds of expensive official gifts. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing.

Netanyahu says he will decide in coming weeks whether to make a comeback, but associates in the Likud Party insist he will. With parliament reconvening in three weeks and Barak hobbled by a minority government, new elections appear likely. Netanyahu polls far better than current Likud leader Ariel Sharon, who has started campaigning to fend off a challenge. Sharon made a grandstanding visit to the most contentious site in Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, which is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. That sparked Palestinian riots in which at least 20 were killed. It may be just the first battle on Netanyahu's road back to power.

--By Matt Rees/Jerusalem