Israel’s Ariel Sharon yesterday won a resounding mandate from members of his Likud party to lead them into general elections in January. His 60% of the primary vote was all the more impressive because of the effect of the terrorist attacks on Israelis in Kenya and Beit Shean. The conventional wisdom is that Arab terrorism erodes support for Israeli moderation and rewards those espousing a harder line. Mr. Sharon appeared to have that model in mind when, during a press conference called to address the terrorist attacks, he linked the attacks to the Likud primary vote. After the vote, he told supporters that the attacks “were part of the campaign of murder and culture of murder of the Arabs against Jews, an attempt by the terrorists to influence the democratic elections and democratic process in Israel.”

Mr. Sharon was worried that a low turnout could help his rival, Foreign Minister Netanyahu, who had argued that Mr. Sharon was not pressing hard enough against the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon had plenty of reason therefore to be concerned that the rash of terrorist attacks might tip the scales against him. Four suicide bombings during eight days in February, 1996 are widely credited with eroding support for Shimon Peres, who had assumed the prime minister’s office following Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, with the result that Mr. Netanyahu was elected in June. Since coming to office, Mr. Sharon has combined a fierce resolve to fight terrorism with diplomatic flexibility. His mandate therefore is all the more impressive for the fact that in the face of Islamic terror, members of the country’s largest political party have asked him to lead them, and the country, knowing full well where he stands on the issues.