Why did Ariel Sharon oppose the creation of a Palestinian state earlier in his political career?

Earlier in his political career, Ariel Sharon was a staunch opponent of the creation of a Palestinian state. As minister of agriculture in the late 1970s, he actively promoted the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to solidify Israeli presence.1

His opposition was rooted in his commitment to the values of pioneering Zionism and his belief in the birthright of the Jewish people to an independent state in their homeland. To address Palestinian demands for self-determination without creating a separate state, Sharon adopted the slogan "Jordan is Palestine." This position endorsed the idea that Jordan—which had a majority Palestinian population—could serve as the entity to meet those national aspirations, rather than establishing a new state in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.21

While Sharon’s fundamental outlook remained consistent for much of his life, his stance underwent a significant shift during his premiership, when he eventually moved toward accepting a limited form of a Palestinian state and ordered the withdrawal from Gaza.32