I believe Sharon's plan is to build the wall. Tell the anit-semite governments of the world to bug off. Declare the West Bank and Gaza Strip non-Israeli territory, and recognize any half-legitimate Palestinian leader as the leader of a sovereign state (as long as its not Arafat), and request recognition by the UN and other major world players.
Of course the anti-semites in the UN will not waste a moment in showing their hypocrisy and anti-semitism by shedding wolf tears and crying that "this is an agression against the Palestinian people!". All the while forgetting the Oslo accords, which are generally accepted as a fair shake, were based on providing the Palestinians their right to govern themselves?
It won't be good enough at the UN or for the Arabs or Muslims in general. A sovereign state is not their wish....it is Jewish blood they lust for. There is no sincere sympathy by the Arab countries, Israel is a thorn in their collective side.
Sharon is building a fortress. He is a millitary man and is in moving Israel into a defensive posture. Not only is this a millitary move, it is a phillisophical and religous move. Once Israel has walled itself off, given the Palestinians a sovereign state with self-determination, and a fig leaf, it will be morally and regiously justified to defend itself with wrath. People forget Israel has nuclear weapons, and are the only country in this world surrounded by aggressors who openly pray for her destruction.
Any territory that hosts artillery attacks will be punished as if war had been declared by a sovereign state. This includes Syria or their proxy state of Lebanon. A mix of rabid fanatacism and brink of extinction mindset could lead to a frightening scenario.
Never in history has there ever been a situation where a nuclear state has truly faced the fear of being overrun completely. The Israelis have nuclear weapons, and will certainly use them if it means that or extinction for the jews. What would you do?
The world has two choices, reign in their irrational anti-semitism for the sake of millions of lives, or run the risk of creating a nuclear nightmare that will result in 10s of millions of dead arabs and jews and environmental impact around the world.
I don't see the armageddon scenarioo you present as a likely one. Arab leaders aren't suicidal. Israel's nuclear deterrent has prevented them from launching a full scale war for three decades.
An individual nation could be insane enough to start something serious, which is why Iran's nuclear program must be checked. Given the chance they'd threaten the entire Western world and not just Israel. Some Iranian Imams have already said that "Anglo-Saxon civilization" (meaning the U.S. and Great Britain) must be destroyed and replaced with Muslim states.
In any case, I think the article is well written and very much a window on the future. Israel will finish the fence, the world will protest and wueo to their own misguded militant leadership and the disdain of their fellow Arabs.