Ariel Sharon is a creature of history. He`s old enough to have fought in all of Israel`s wars. The only one he didn`t fight in, he started. His opponents call him a war monger and say he will destroy the peace process.

YOSSI BEILIN, ISRAELI JUSTICE MINISTER: There is no chance for peace if Sharon is the Israeli Prime Minister. We know his plans, we know his ideas, we know his past, and I don`t think there is any chance to make peace.

It is just that past Sharon has been trying to reinvent.

ARIEL SHARON, CAMPAIGN TV COMMERCIAL: I saw what war is. I took part in all the wars of Israel - that`s why I understand peace better than many other politicians.

And despite Barak`s best efforts to contradict this message, the Israeli voters seem to buy it.

CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL: Ask yourselves, whom do you really trust? Who will bring a more secure peace, a peace that will protect us?

Campaign rhetoric aside, there are contradictions in Sharon`s past which give clues as to which direction he may now take.

Although Sharon`s Zionist pedigree is unchallenged, his early military career was marred by his reputation for recklessness. During the Suez crisis he disobeyed orders and led an attack which caused the death of many of his own men.

His fortunes revived in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He led his tank unit in a decisive manoeuvre, trapping the Egyptian forces. It was a turning point in the war and Sharon was a national hero. He entered politics, where his ruthlessness was carried over into civilian life. As Minister for Agriculture and settlements, the `Bulldozer`, as he became known, made it his mission to impede the creation of a Palestinian state.

ARIEL SHARON: I believe that we have to act in order to have an authority. That is something which is important, and I think that people are expecting and hope to have change here in this country.

He did this by building Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories of the West Bank and Gaza. But in the early `80s, the Bulldozer became famous for peace, not war, playing a crucial role in the Camp David accord with Egypt. It is these credentials he was so anxious to display in this election.

CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL: Before the 1977 elections, Labour scared us with war and insisted Begin would not bring peace. He brought it. Today, Barak again scares us with war and says Sharon will not bring peace. He will.

In 1981, when the moment came to make the key concession to Egypt, only Sharon could deliver. Against tremendous opposition, Sharon dismantled the large Israeli settlement of Yamit before handing over the Sinai to Egypt.

But within months, Sharon turned again to war. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982 was a direct assault on Arafat`s PLO bases there. As Defence Minister, Sharon forced Arafat out, but almost devastated Lebanon in the process and mired Israel in a bloody occupation which ended only last year. The war brought Sharon a reputation as a war criminal for his role in the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the camps at Sabra and Chatila.

The Lebanon debacle should have ended his career. He resigned his ministry, but remained in politics, and remained also one of Israel`s most controversial figures. Last year, he made a carefully orchestrated visit to the Muslim holy site, the Temple Mount.

ARIEL SHARON: There`s no provocation here - the provocation was only on the other side.

HOSNI MUBARAK, EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT: I think what Sharon did, he created health problems for the peace process now - maybe for personal or other reasons, but it`s not right.

The ensuing violence effectively ended Barak`s prime ministership. For now, Sharon has outsmarted his opponents from all sides of politics. Now his friends and many foes look to see which face he will present to the world.