One of the ironical facts about Ariel Sharon is that for all the divisiveness attributed to him, he made it — once he acceded — the hallmark of his strategy to seek a government of national unity. He achieved that goal at the outbreak of the war of terror launched by the Palestinian Arabs after they rejected the concessions Israel offered at Camp David II. He steered such a course, even when Labor resigned from the government of national unity and he was forced to govern from the right. There are those on his right who reckon he has pursued a centrist course far too assiduously, at the expense of certain ideological principles that have always been important to Likud — and, we don’t mind saying, to this newspaper. This is the point that was made by Likud Party members yesterday.

Though it is a setback for Mr. Sharon, he has no doubt kept in mind the fact that the majority of voters in the Jewish state would almost certainly endorse his withdrawal plan were it put to a national referendum. It is no doubt why he said, in the immediate aftermath of the party vote, that he would neither step down nor abandon his plan but rather consult with members of his party and government on the next steps.

We’d like to think his consultants will include America, with whom he has an agreement in respect of the disengagement plan. One of the options is to go back to the voters not with a referendum on withdrawal but with a call for new elections, giving them the chance to bring back the government of national unity with which he started in the first place.