Jerusalem ? As if to remind the world and the Israeli people that he has not suddenly become a proponent of a Palestinian state, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday set tough demands for beginning peace talks, and said any negotiations could lead only to a long-term interim deal, rather than the state the Palestinians demand.

Sharon’s uncompromising words came two days after he lost a vote in his Likud party in which the majority said it would never endorse the creation of a Palestinian state. The vote was forced by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the early stages of challenging Sharon for the leadership of the Likud. Netanyahu is trying to cast Sharon as insufficiently tough on the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon checks his notes before addressing Israel's parliament. Sharon said Tuesday that he will not resume peace talks with the Palestinians until terror attacks end and the Palestinian leadership carries out reforms.

Speaking to Israel’s parliament Tuesday, Sharon did his best to reclaim his image as a man committed to delaying the formation of a Palestinian state. “Israel will enter negotiations immediately after fulfillment of two conditions: the total cessation of terror, incitement and violence; second, reforms in the Palestinian Authority,” Sharon said. The demand for anti-corruption reforms is a new one and has become a mantra in recent weeks.

Sharon also said military strikes on Palestinians believed to be involved in attacks on Israelis will continue. Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian Authority officials early Tuesday in the West Bank village of Halhoul and arrested 14 men around the West Bank.

Sharon’s call for reform within the Palestinian Authority, which is headed by Yasser Arafat, has found favor in unexpected places. Quietly, some Arab regimes, including that of influential Saudi Arabia, and many Palestinians want Arafat to end the unaccountability and corruption that pervades the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians are tired of seeing Arafat’s aides build enormous houses while so many of the people scrape by in refugee camps.

Sharon’s motives are likely different. Analysts say he may be demanding reform as a way of both postponing peace talks and ending the political career of his nemesis, Arafat.

By suggesting that any eventual peace talks would yield only an agreement for a “long-term interim period,” Sharon is promoting an idea that all Palestinian leaders have consistently rejected.

“When we see how the Palestinians construct their society and their self-government, when we see that they truly seek peace… we can move ahead to discussions of the character of the permanent deals between us,” Sharon said, without explicitly mentioning a Palestinian state.