Netanhayu resigned from Ariel Sharon's government in 2005 because he disagreed with Sharon's Gaza disengagement plan which called for the removal of all Israeli settlers from the Palestinian territory.
Since 2004, when prime minister Ariel Sharon forced internal security minister Uzi Landau to resign due to Landau's opposition to Sharon's sharp turn to the left, the police have not been ordered to rein in the activities of the militia.
In essence, what we see in Olmert's and Livni's machinations is a repeat of Ariel Sharon's and Livni's political maneuvering in the period that preceded the withdrawal from Gaza.
On Tuesday, as Mr Abbas's police were battling Palestinian militants, Mr Sharon's cops were scuffling with radical Israeli protesters, who vowed they would not be stopped from crossing into Gaza.
Natan Sharansky, Israel's minister for Jerusalem and diaspora affairs, resigned from Ariel Sharon's government in protest against plans to withdraw from the Gaza strip.
When one compares Olmert's management of the current crisis with former prime minister Ariel Sharon's management of Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, the fact that this operation is not serious becomes manifestly clear.
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Israel's minister of finance, Silvan Shalom, a member of Mr Sharon's policymaking inner cabinet, says reassuringly that Mr Arafat's own life is not in danger.
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Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is a capable politician who thinks along Mr Sharon's lines, but lacks a national following.
But nothing has happened on the ground, making Mr Sharon's critics think that nothing will.
Mr Sharon's deputy prime minister and close ally, Ehud Olmert, has begun to acknowledge such fears.
This widespread nostalgia reflects in part, of course, the huge trauma of Sharon's sudden departure.
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On Monday, Binyamin Netanyahu, the finance minister and Mr Sharon's main rival, joined the referendum call.
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Israeli radio reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's security Cabinet will meet at 8 a.m.
For Mr Netanyahu, Mr Sharon's co-option to the team completes some deft domestic manoeuvring.
The question now is whether Mr Mitzna can dent Mr Sharon's broad support among middle-of-the-road voters.
Pollsters and pundits alike attribute Mr Sharon's success to the fact that people believe him.
Sharon's two sons arrived at the hospital shortly thereafter, as did a number of his top aides.
This threatens to split not only Mr Sharon's ruling centre-right coalition but also his own Likud party.
Ms Livni served as foreign minister throughout the government of Mr Sharon's unpopular and scandal-prone successor, Ehud Olmert.
Though Mr Abbas lacked the guts to follow Mr Sharon's example himself, he can still stay on top.
Whatever the motive, it showed profound misjudgment, not least in Mr Sharon's assessment of the mood in Washington.
Mr Sharon's own preference would be to keep things as they are, and continue ruling over parallel coalitions.
Netanyahu served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and held the post of finance minister in Sharon's government.
Mr Sharon's press people insist he is determined to push his plan through.
Shinui, a linchpin of Mr Sharon's governments between 2001 and 2006, has since disappeared as swiftly as it arose.
But he returned to the Likud leadership later that year following Sharon's break with the party to form Kadima.
That person was Patti Tate, Sharon's sister, and Statman said the pair went on to strike up a romantic relationship.
The other inquiry hanging over the Sharon family stems from Mr Sharon's alleged infringements of election financing laws in 1999-2000.
After all, it affords an opportunity for sober reflection about the wisdom of Sharon 's policies and their repercussions .
Significantly, this analysis of Mr Sharon's intentions is provoking little outcry, or even much sustained criticism, within Israeli mainstream politics.
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