The operation caused an international uproar and generated questions within important political and intellectual circles. At first, Israel tried to deny that the massacre was carried out by military unit and claimed that "angry border-area settlers" were responsible. But among the military, the wider population, and especially among the youth, it was considered a big success and raised national pride. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, hearing of the action, suspected that the young commander beloneged to a revisionist stream of Zionism, and called him for a talk. During the meeting, Ben-Gurion was very satisfied to discover that Sharon and his family belonged to the "correct" political stream (the Laborite one) and was enchanted by the young, brave, handsome, and bright officer - the embodiment of his vision of the Sabra, a healthy, Israeli-born Jew free from all the maladies of exile. From that time on, the "Old Man," as Ben-Gurion was known, gave Sharon his personal protection and maintained a special relationship with him, which Sharon used every time he got into trouble following one of his adventurous and unauthorized military operations.
Source: Kimmerling.
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