Ain-Al-Yaqeen - December 23, 2005

		December 23, 2005

ANNAN : "WE ARE GOING TO PRESS AHEAD WITH THE INVESTIGATIONS IN AL-HARIRI'S ASSASSINATION."
MEHLIS TELLS HIS SUCCESSOR TO BE READY FOR A LONG INVESTIGATION.
TONY BLAIR SAYS HE IS PREPARED TO HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH SYRIA BUT WITH CONDITIONS.
THE DEVELOPMENTS ON THE IRAQI AND PALESTINIAN ARENAS.
THE HEAD OF THE ISRALI LABOR PARTY: "THE ROAD MAP IS A FORMULA FOR UTTER POLITICAL STAGNATION THAT COULD LAST FOR DECADES. IT IS A WASTE OF OUR TIME."
SHARON DENIES REPORTS THAT HE INTENDS TO CONCEDE PARTS OF JERUSALEM IN A FINAL AGREEMENT WITH THE PALESTINIANS.
IRAQI SUNNIS AND ALLAWI CONSIDER THE ELECTIONS AS FRAUDULENT AND ILLEGITIMATE.

At his end of the year press conference Un Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the year about to end has been a really difficult one -- from the tsunami to events in Lebanon and Darfur and beyondThe 2005 Summit made important strides in a number of areas, even if it did not fulfil all expectationsOne of the things it did is that, for the first time, it gave a broad definition of threats as we know them and they came up with five categories of threats: poverty, infectious diseases and environmental degradation; second, armed conflict, both within and among States; third, organized crime; fourth, terrorism; and fifth, weapons of mass destruction. And I think for the first time we have given a broad and fair definition of threats faced by all regions And I believe at the end of that conference, delegates went away with the understanding that you cannot have development without security and you cannot have security without development. And you would enjoy neither unless there is respect for human rights and the rule of law.

About the situation in Lebanon the Secretary-General saidI will let the investigation takes its courseI am about to name a successor to Detlev Mehlis. I have worked out practical arrangements with Detlev. There will be no gap. He will continue until the successor arrives. I am hoping that they will be able to spend about two weeks or so together for him to hand over properly. And then the successor will take over. We do take the responsibility and the investigations very seriously, and we are going to press ahead. I will name a very competent successor to Mr. Mehlis. The Secretary General addedon the global issues, I think the issue of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction is going to be a major issue for us. I also see the situation in the Middle East. Here, I'm talking about the broader Middle East. I'm looking at Iraq. I'm looking at the situation in Lebanon and Syria. And I'm looking at the Palestinian-Israeli situation. So, the Middle East will be a major issue for us. I dare say that we should also keep a very close eye on Sudan/Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

About who would take over from Detlev Mehlis the Secretary-General said that Brammertz is one of the candidates I am looking at. There are, of course, quite a few issues to work out. The highly qualified prosecutors that one would need for this kind of job are usually employed or in some situation that you have to negotiate to get them released. The Council's mandate is for six months. In fact, originally when the Commission was established and Mehlis was appointed, we thought it could be done in six months. Now it has been extended for another six months. I am looking at candidates and I will take all these factors into consideration and appoint the best available candidate. My mandate is for six months. I cannot appoint anyone for more than six months. So the appointment will be for six months, as mandated by the Security Council. Obviously, if there is a need for extension, it will be another story that we will have to deal with.

On the question of a court with an international character, the Council has asked me to consult with the Lebanese Government, with the prosecutor and my own legal office to make a report to the Council. And I intend to submit a report to the Council on the issue of the court and on the issue of assistance to the Lebanese for the investigation of all assassinations dating back to October 2004. So I will be submitting reports covering these two issues.

On the war in Iraq the Secretary General said -- the most important thing that I would have -- I think if I go back in the recent years, I think one thing I would have liked to see done is for us to have done everything that we could have done to avoid a war in Iraq that has brought such division within this Organization and the international community. And that is one thing that I must say still haunts me and bothers me: that as an organization, as an international community, we were not able to do. I did speak to lots of Member States, lots of organizations; I was on the phone. Anyway, we were not -- and with our inspectors -- but we were not able to do that.

On Darfur the Secretary General said: In fact, recently I've had lots of discussions with Governments on it. We have an assessment mission on the ground with the African Union Force, and the United Nations has sent members along with that. And one of the mandates is for them to look at the way forward, how we strengthen security on the ground. We are also dealing with the African Union and finding ways of re-energizing the political discussions on Darfur, which is taking place in Abuja, because I think that is the only way for us to have long-term stability in Darfur and in Sudan. The Government itself has set the end of December as a deadline for achieving agreement on Darfur with the rebels, but at this rate I don't think that is going to happen. What is important is all those with pressure should maintain that pressure, both on the Government and on the rebels, to come to an agreement. The situation is very difficult, and I think the United Nations will have to take much more active action. And I have raised this with the Council. And as we move into the next year, I think that is going to be necessary, and the Council will have to act.

Asked questions on whether the Iranian nuclear programme will come soon to the Security Council? and Secondly, the election in Iraq finished, but the violence is still going on and the meaning in the election then?

The Secretary-General answered: I think the nuclear - Iranian nuclear issue is now being dealt with by the Atomic Agency in Vienna. I don't think that process has been exhausted yet, and there will soon be a meeting between the Iranians and the European Ministers. How well that will go I do not know. Whether it is going to be talks or talks about talks, only time - we will know fairly shortly. But I think the preference of everyone will be if they can sit at the table and find a solution. If, of course, they are not able to find a solution, the process at the Atomic Agency will have to be exhausted before the issue comes to the United Nations, if it does come to the United Nations.

On the question of Iraq he said: Elections are an important signpost, but it is not everything. It's a beginning, not an end. I think what is required in Iraq is reconciliation of all groups. And we have been maintaining this here for a long time: that you need a political process that is inclusive, that brings all the groups in. Most people have been worried about the ethnic and sectorial conflict, but the divide now seems to be between secular and religious, which is emerging in Iraq. And I think it is also something that Iraq will have to deal with.

Now that the elections are over, the next important thing is to establish the Government and to move ahead with the constitutional review process, which is to take four months. I hope the constitution will be adjusted meaningfully to be able to bring all parties on board and make it a unifying exercise, which up till now it has not been. And I think once you have gone through the reconciliation, with the constitutional process and determination on the part of the Iraqis to work together, you will see an end to the violence. But elections alone was not expected to end the violence.

Asked about his position regarding the suggestion that the Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia be added to the Quartet?

The Secretary-General said: Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Jordan have played an important role in the situation in the Middle East. In fact, on the reform of Palestinian security, Egypt has been extremely helpful, working with the Europeans and the Americans to reform the Palestinian security authority. The Quartet, in the past, has broadened its meeting. We had a meeting once where we brought in the three countries Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. And at our last meeting, in September, this issue came up: that we should in the near future allow room for a larger discussion, bringing in the partners in the region. I don't think there's an intention to expand the Quartet as such. But the Quartet can meet in an expanded format with the three countries that you mentioned, and I think that is not excluded, that it will take place in the course of this year.

On the other hand the investigator, Detlev Mehlis, said at a press conference in Berlin after returning from the U.N. assignment that he would continue to coordinate the U.N. investigation until the end of January or until a replacement is found. He said he would be pleased if Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz - currently assigned to the International Criminal Court in the Hague - took over the job.

Mehlis said that he believed that Hariri's killing and a spate of recent killings in Lebanon are linked.

"These are not isolated attacks," Mehlis told reporters. "It's pretty clear that there are connections, even if I can't prove it."

The U.N. Security Council voted last week to extend the investigation into Hariri's assassination but didn't agree to Lebanon's request to immediately broaden the probe and establish an international tribunal.

Mehlis didn't elaborate on his comments, citing the ongoing investigation. He said he couldn't predict how long the probe would take.

Mehlis said suffocating security measures and the distance from his family, rather than a hate campaign in the Syrian media and the threat to his safety, persuaded him to return to Germany after six months at the head of the U.N. team.

Meantime Head of the Future bloc in Parliament MP Saad Rafiq Hariri said Lebanon is facing a campaign by the Syrian regime to change its democratic system, and reiterated calls for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud to protect Lebanese interests.

In an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah satellite channel, MP Hariri said he is convinced that a "terrorist regime" is "launching a war" to change Lebanon's democratic system, and made clear that "we are not the ones who are targeting the Syrian regime but they seek to change Lebanon's democratic system." Mr. Hariri stressed that the regime in Damascus is today alone facing "rough seas," after it had friends and people who were ready to help it before February 14, in reference to the day that late Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in a bomb attack in Beirut. MP Hariri said many offered the regime advice, but it did not respond and will now suffer the consequences.

In the interview, MP Hariri also called for supporting the resistance, to "protect the country," and questioned rhetoric by some that the US and Israel have a design to destabilize the region, saying the Syrian regime has been "running behind the United States and Israel and wants to create peace with Israel." He also asked why is the regime ready to make concessions to the US "over the blood" of the assassinated Prime Minister and murdered MP Bassil Fuleihan, Mr. Samir Qassir, and the figures that were recently killed in Lebanon.

In response to a question, MP Hariri said some want him to become Prime Minister, and go through the same difficulties that the assassinated Prime Minister experienced with President Emile Lahoud. He vowed not to do so, and told Al-Arabiyah that he does not accept to be named by President Lahoud and that the head of state "should go home."

In Cairo, the Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa said that the AL is moving in an attempt to contain the crisis in the Syrian- Lebanese relations.

But Moussa refused to answer a question on whether he intends to shortly visit each of Syria and Lebanon.

Moussa met with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a work lunch the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held in his honor in Cairo.

Al-Assad made talks with Mubarak during a quick visit he had held to Cairo that dealt with means of improving the relations between Syria and Lebanon, and Damascus's cooperation with the UN investigation committee on the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

In London British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was prepared to have a dialogue with Syria but only if Damascus cooperates with the United Nations on an investigation into the killing of a former Lebanese leader. He urged Syria to end "interference" in Lebanon and demanded it stop insurgents crossing the border into Iraq.

But he stopped short of threatening sanctions if Syria fails to give full cooperation to the U.N. murder inquiry.

"I am very happy to have a dialogue with the Syrian government but it has to be on very, very clear terms and it's important they are not only saying these things (on cooperation) but that they are doing them," Blair told reporters.

"The fact is there can be no justification for interfering in Lebanon and the Mehlis (U.N.) report was not good reading for Syria, you have to accept that," he said.

Blair said it was important for the world to ascertain the full facts about Hariri's assassination.

"It's a very, very serious situation for Syria," said Blair. Hariri's killing sparked an international outcry that forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April.

Blair also said foreign troops in Iraq, including British soldiers, were at risk from insurgent attacks and said Syria should play its part in trying to rein in militants.

"It is important that Syria fulfils its obligations to stop these people from crossing the border. The evidence on that is at best patchy," he added.

In the framework of their continuing consultations, President Mubarak Tuesday held a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad at the presidential Palace in Heliopolis during which they reviewed the developments at Arab and regional arenas and the progress of Arab and international efforts for narrowing the gap between the Syrian and Lebanese stances.

Talks were attended on the Egyptian side by Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif, Minister of Defense Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Chief of the Presidential Cabinet Dr. Zakaria Azmi, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and the members of the Syrian delegation.

On the other hand, and at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Farouk Al-Shara, Abul Gheit, said the two leaders discussed a host of bilateral and regional issues, mainly the international investigation into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the related UNSC resolution and Syria's response to it.

The two leaders have also tackled Egyptian-Syrian relations and voiced full satisfaction with the development of these ties, added Abul Gheit.

On his part, Shara said Damascus has greatly contributed to clearing the atmosphere not only in Syria and Lebanon, but also in the entire region as well.

Shara said his country's full cooperation with the investigating team was welcomed in Syria in particular, the entire region and at the international level in general.

Damascus will go ahead with its cooperation so that the UN team can reach the truth, he pointed out.

The situation in Iraq is in progress, Syrian foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara said, noting that the recent Iraqi elections would help improve security conditions, prevent eruption of a civil war and help improve relations between Arab countries and Iraq.

Asked about those behind accusations leveled against Syria whenever an explosion took place in Lebanon, the Syrian Foreign Minister said no definite accusation could be brought against anyone. There were no fundamental differences between the Lebanese people as they are one nation.

Syria is bearing the brunt of these accusations and campaigns, he said, noting that the time would come when the Lebanese and Arab peoples would discover that those accusations were baseless.

The report presented by the head of the UN Detlev Mehlis, to the UNSC on Hariri's killing did not involve accusations against Syria, he said.

In reply to a question on how Syria will deal with the Lebanese crisis, he pointed out that Mehlis was replaced by a new chief and that Damascus had decided to deal seriously with him and in a constructive way to help the international investigator reach the truth.

Damascus is ready to receive the new investigator after being officially appointed, he said. Damascus will not seek to cast doubts on the former investigations, Shara said, pointing out, however, to what he said "false witnesses" who had narrow interests that neither served the investigation nor the truth.

In Baghdad dozens of Sunni Arab and Shiite groups threatened to boycott Iraq's new legislature if complaints about tainted voting are not reviewed by an international body.

A representative for former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi described the Dec. 15 vote as "fraudulent" and the elected lawmakers "illegitimate."

A joint statement issued by 35 political groups that competed in last week's elections said the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, which oversaw the ballot, should be disbanded.

It also said the complaints about fraud and intimidation should be reviewed by international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League.

"We hold the IECI responsible for all the violations which took place during the elections and demand that it be dissolved and a suitable alternative to be found," said the statement, read by Ali Al-Timimi, the head of the Shiite Hilla Al-Fayha List. "If this is not achieved, then we will have no choice but to refuse the results and boycott the new parliament."

Allawi representative Ibrahim Al-Janabi dismissed the voting in all of Iraq's 18 provinces as "fraudulent."

"These elections are fraudulent, they are fraudulent, and the next parliament is illegitimate. We reject all this process," Al-Janabi told a news conference.

The political turmoil came as foreign politicians conducted high-profile surprise visits to Iraq to meet with their countries' troops ahead of the Christmas holiday.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited his troops in the southern city of Basra, US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad and Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz visited troops in central Iraq.

Rumsfeld hinted that the US military soon will begin a modest additional reduction in troop levels by canceling the scheduled deployment of two Army brigades.

Blair, on his fourth trip to Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion, said good progress was being made in training Iraqi security and police forces to protect the country.

The ability of Iraqis to manage the country's security is the key condition for the 8,000 British troops, most of them stationed in the southeast near Basra, to return home.

Asked if six months was a viable time for a withdrawal to begin, Blair said: "If everything goes to plan. It is our strategy, we want to draw down our own forces." "This is a completely different situation from the situation a year ago,"

In Cairo Presidential Spokesman Suliman Awwad said US Vice President Dick Cheney told President Hosni. Mubarak he had to cut short his current Middle East tour and return home to attend Senate voting on the extension of the Patriot Act.

Cheney also told Mubarak he had been looking forward to visiting Egypt and meeting with him. Cheney canceled on Tuesday visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt which were part of a regional tour including Iraq, Oman, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In Muscat Sultan Qaboos bin Said gave an audience at Bait Al Barakah evening to US Vice-President Dick Cheney. During the audience, cordial conversation was exchanged and aspects of existing cooperation between the Sultanate and the US in various spheres in the light of the two countries' strong ties were discussed.

The audience was attended by Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs; and Dr Omar bin Abdul Munim Al Zawawi, the Sultan's special adviser for external liaison. It was attended from the American side by Richard Baltimore, American ambassador to the Sultanate, and the delegation accompanying the guest. Dick Cheney left the Sultanate later yesterday after winding up his short visit. He was seen off by Dr Omar bin Abdul Munim Al Zawawi and the US ambassador to the Sultanate.

In Islamabad Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may no longer be able to run the militant network and has not been heard from for nearly a year, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld said on a trip to Pakistan the Bush administration still considers it a priority to capture the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, who is believed to be hiding somewhere in mountains along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

"I think it is interesting that we haven't heard from him for close to a year," Rumsfeld told reporters en route to Islamabad.

"I don't know what it means, but I suspect in any event if he is alive and functioning that he is spending a major fraction of his time trying to avoid being caught," Rumsfeld said.

"I have trouble believing he is able to operate sufficiently to be in a position of major command over a worldwide al Qaeda operation, but I could be wrong," he said. Rumsfeld's comments echoed earlier assessments by the US ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker, but contradicted the assertion of al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a video interview this month that bin Laden's battle against the West was only just beginning.

Said Rumsfeld: "We just don't know". The most recent al Qaeda message from bin Laden came on Dec. 27, 2004, with the broadcast of an audiotape in which he urged Iraqis to boycott elections the following month.

Rumsfeld's visit to Pakistan, was intended to reinforce America's support and assess US relief operations after an October earthquake that killed 73,000 people. His visit comes a day after a similar trip by US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Before flying on to Afghanistan, Rumsfeld toured a US military field hospital in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, and stopped in neighbouring North West Frontier Province, which was also badly hit in the quake.

On the Palestinian arena the PLO Executive Committee (EC) reiterated Thursday that the legislative elections should be conducted on the proposed time on January 25, 2006.

During its meeting, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah, (EC) called on various Palestinian organizations and powers to seriously act for carrying out elections on time.

The EC asserted that all of the Palestinian parties have the right to participate in elections, rejecting any foreign intervention.

It also rejected the Israeli attempts to hamper the legislative elections either through the resumption of assassinations and restrictions or neglecting the 1996 regulations, which rule the participation of the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem in elections.

The Committee called upon the Palestinian factions to abide by the calm and work jointly to conduct the elections on time, stressing that some practices of some Palestinian groups could justify Israel to escalate aggression and to curb the elections.

President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) would continue efforts for ending the security chaos.

In a statement, delivered by Dr. Rafiq Al-Husseini, Head of the Presidency Council before anti chaos rally, in Gaza, President reiterated on the necessity of the sovereignty of law.

Al-Husseini added that President Abbas ordered the apparatuses to continue efforts for ending instability to be capable to establish the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital.

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has tried to end the split inside the Fatah movement in light of the legislative council elections which will be held on January 25th, that some are calling for their delay in coincidence with the strong success of Hamas against Fatah in the municipal elections.

This came after member of the Revolutionary Council of the Fatah movement, Qaddoura Fares, announced that the secretary of the Fatah movement who is jailed in Israel, Marwan al-Barghouthi, is a candidate on top of al-Mustaqbal (future) list which was formed by a group of young Fatah leadership who want to replace the current Fatah leadership.

On the other hand in the occupied territories Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office denied recent reports that he intended to concede parts of Jerusalem in a final agreement with the Palestinians. The comments, published in Newsweek, quoted a Sharon advisor saying that Sharon intended to include portions of the city in a future Palestinian state, which would rest on 90 percent of the West Bank.

The Newsweek comments resulted in a barrage of criticism from right-wing Israeli politicians, including former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that "the secret is out."

"Sharon's people are exposing what he's trying to hide, but everyone already knows Sharon will divide Jerusalem and bring the Palestinians to the 1967 borders," Netanyahu said.

Sharon issued a statement in which he denied the comments, saying, "The remarks are in total contradiction to my positions and opinions," according to Haaretz.

"The entire united Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel forever. The road map is the diplomatic plan that will guide Israel in the years to come, and whosoever says anything different is doing so of his own accord and in total contradiction to my position; and that is how the remarks should be treated," Sharon added.

The remarks were made in the Newsweek interview by pollster Kalman Gayer, who said that "Sharon would accept a Palestinian state in Gaza and 90 percent of the West Bank, and a compromise on Jerusalem, in exchange for peace."

On the other hand if elected prime minister, Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz intends to reach a final status agreement with the Palestinians within one four-year term. He intends to engage in immediate negotiations with the Palestinians, and prefers the direct channel over the Road Map. In a talk with European diplomats, Peretz said, "The Road Map is a formula for utter political stagnation that could last for decades. It is a waste of our time." In a separate interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, he presented the principles of his peace plan and its timetable. "I will work to reach a final status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians as soon as possible," said Peretz. "At the conclusion of the term we must be subsequent to the final status arrangement with the Palestinians." Within a year, he wants to finish negotiations with the Palestinians, and within three years he wants to implement in practice the final status accord, which will focus on establishing a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. Peretz also clarified that in any peace arrangement with the Palestinians, he would insist that there be no partitioning of Jerusalem and no right of return for Palestinian refugees.

In his discussion with European diplomats, Peretz said, "Since we are not reaching the implementation of the first stage of the Road Map, we should not wait, but rather launch immediate negotiations for the final status arrangement with the Palestinians and with Abu Mazen ." He explained that "the Road Map is not sacred, and is also not a condition for negotiations on the final status arrangement. It can be skipped." Peretz argued further that the Road Map leads to establishing a provisional Palestinian state, "which will remain hostile towards Israel, whereas the Palestinian state in the final status arrangement will be of a friendly nature to Israel. The final status arrangement should be accelerated instead of the Road Map."

Still, he is opposed to cancelling the Road Map since it was signed between the two sides with international backing and supervision. "The Road Map's problem is that it is given to many interpretations, and can be acceptable both to the extreme right and the extreme left. There is the possibility of a Palestinian state in this plan, but also the possibility of a deep freeze." As for Israel's relations with Abu Mazen, he said, "I do not accept the approach that there is no partner. The approach that there is no partner perpetuates the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Meanwhile Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke with U.S. President George Bush, who congratulated him on his release from hospital, after suffering a mild stroke.

During the conversation, Bush told the prime minister that he hoped to greet a thinner Sharon when they meet in two months time. The president suggested Sharon eat healthily, exercise and not work too hard. The president told Sharon that he views him as a full partner, a brave leader and a visionary of peace, expressing his desire to fight Recovering. "I need you healthy. People love strong leadership built on principles, and you have proved this," Bush said.

The two leaders also spoke about recent developments in the Palestinian Authority and about the need to defeat terror in order to advance the peace process.

Bush had heard about Sharon's release from hospital and wanted to personally speak with him and wish the prime minister a speedy recovery. Apparently Bush's advice fell on deaf ears as little time after his release from hospital Sharon scoffed his favorite lunch, aides said, without giving nutritional regard to the meal.

A barrage of diets recommended to the prime minister has been rejected for the time being. Aides said however they will not surrender to his "lust for lumpy meals." "This time we will make sure he follows a suitable diet, recommended by doctors," they added.

A journalist with Israel's Maariv newspaper said the day before Sharon was admitted to hospital, he was seen tucking into kebabs, steaks in sauce, lamb ribs, salads and various cakes.

Columnist Ben Caspit described it as "a typical Sharon menu".

Yediot Ahronot newspaper claimed the prime minister regularly orders shwarma - grilled turkey or lamb in pitta bread - and felafel - deep fried chickpea balls - to his office.

His armoured convoy also makes regular stops for fast food in Jerusalem, the paper said.

"The heyday of gluttony is over," ran the newspaper's headline, as Mr Sharon's doctors reportedly ordered him to watch his diet.