Promising a "hand stretched out in peace" to the Palestinians, but vowing not to negotiate "under the pressure of terrorism and violence", Mr Ariel Sharon was last night sworn in as Israel's 11th prime minister, at the head of a seven-party "national unity government".
In a soft-spoken opening address to the Knesset, Mr Sharon called on the Palestinians to "choose the path of peace and reconciliation", and urged Mr Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority to "honour its commitment to fight against terrorism". If it did so, he pledged, it would "find in my government a genuine partner".
Nevertheless, Mr Sharon also restated his commitment to Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, and he reminded his audience of his known positions regarding the disputed Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley, where he believes that Israel's security requires its continued control.
Clearly determined to project an image of moderation to contrast with his controversial military background, Mr Sharon promised to seek reconciliation throughout the Arab world, and to "open a new page" in relations between Israel's Arab and Jewish citizens.
Mr Sharon's coalition is the largest in Israeli history, with 26 cabinet ministers. He said he believed it would see out its term to November 2003. Ms Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, daughter of the assassinated prime minister, Mr Yitzhak Rabin, is to serve as Deputy Defence Minister.
But Mr Shimon Peres, the incoming Foreign Minister, hinted at conflicts to come even before Mr Sharon had delivered his speech. While Mr Sharon is ruling out talks with Mr Arafat so long as the five-month Palestinian intifada continues, Mr Peres indicated a desire to rapidly resume peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, noting that you "don't fight fire with fire, but with water".
The Knesset has also amended election law, abolishing the separate, direct election of the prime minister that brought Mr Sharon to power. Now Israel has returned to nationwide proportional representation. Whenever elections are next called, the leader of the party with the most votes will be charged with the task of forming a coalition.
In another dramatic vote, parliament also extended a controversial arrangement whereby tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Torah students are not conscripted into the army.
Among the new faces at the cabinet table are hardliners like the Infrastructure Minister, Mr Avigdor Lieberman, and the Internal Security Minister, Mr Uzi Landau, who argue that the previous government of Mr Ehud Barak offered disgracefully over-generous terms to the Palestinians in its abortive attempts at peacemaking.
But as significant are the departing leaders: Mr Yossi Beilin, champion of the Oslo peace framework and Mr Barak's justice minister, is now out of government and holds no Knesset seat. Mr Uri Savir, another Oslo architect, has resigned his seat in the Knesset. And so too has Mr Amnon Shahak who, as army chief of staff, established warm relations with the Palestinian leadership in formulating accords on security co-operation in the mid-1990s, served as a key minister in Mr Barak's government, accompanied him to the failed Camp David peace accords last summer, and participated in the unsuccessful lastditch effort to broker an accord in January.
Mr Nabil Abu Rudeinah, a senior adviser to the Palestinian President, Mr Arafat, asserted yesterday that the swearing-in of the new government amounted to "the moment of truth" for Israel, and a choice between a return to peacemaking or a deepening of the intifada.
However, the two-to-one vote by Israelis last month for Mr Sharon over Mr Barak showed an electorate that had lost faith in the partnership with Mr Arafat. And the departure from Israeli politics yesterday of so many of the Oslo peace-planners underlined that the start of the Sharon era also constitutes the end of the Oslo era.