"For starters, had the Palestinians not gotten violent, Sharon would not be prime minister in the first place, and many Israelis are certainly civilized. I dare say that had that approach been followed from day one, much of the Israeli population would now be sympathetic to the Palestinian problems."

I just don't know. Sharon repudiated the Camp David process while it was going on, saying that if elected he would not honor it. He then made his famous, provocative visit to the Temple Mount. And those were just he publicized examples of his intransigence. He would have had many, many more opportunities to "bait" the Palestinians, and I don't know what might have stopped him. Certainly not decency, and he is the commander of an occupying army. How he may have ratcheted up the insults, indignities and attacks isn't known to me, but a 25 to 1 kill ratio is pretty extreme.

He also has a track record of being willing to have unarmed civilians slaughtered. Not just once.

I just don't think civil disobedience will ever be able to make a point with such a person. I don't think "civil" will ever make a point with him.
Arf