Frightening development in lead-up to Israeli's elections

Looks like George Mitchell is facing an impossible task, at least in the short term. The Times of London reports that Israeli ultra-hawk Avigdor Lieberman - an advocate of forcible expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from the West Bank - is gaining ground in the polls - so much so that his party may overtake Labor as the third largest in the Knesset. It's increasingly obvious that the fires of the peace camp in Israel have been doused, and that the Israeli public is becoming more and more hard-line.

The Times also notes a couple of Mr. Lieberman's more murderous solutions to Israel's challenges:

In private Lieberman is said to have urged that Tehran be levelled if Iran goes ahead with its nuclear weapons programme. In public he told listeners to Israel Radio’s Persian service: “You will pay a high price. You, the good Iranian citizens, will pay for your leaders’ actions.”

He has also denounced Egypt, despite its peace treaty with Israel. He once suggested that in the event of war with Egypt, Israel should destroy the Aswan dam on the Nile and flood the country.