The recent election in Israel is one I find very disquieting.
Both the reputation of Sharon--the man responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre--and recent pronouncements regarding the need for the Intifada to end before any talks will occur, do not bode well for the future.
In a recent report on the CBC, its Middle East correspondant Neil MacDonald suggested that Sharon is considering a pacification program similar to the one he carried out previously, where Palestinian men were rounded up, and Palestinian homes were bulldozed--hence his nickname.
The only, vaguely, hopeful fact is that the Israeli parlement, the Knesset, was unchanged, and that Sharon still seems to need representation from the left parties, including the Labor Party of Barak to form a government.
Any person of good will can only be dismayed by the events of recent history, starting with the visit by Sharon to Temple Mount which began the present round of bloodletting.