Gaza isn't the end of it

摘要

Ariel sharon is a hard man to warm to. The Israeli prime minister whom George Bush called "a man of peace" is heartily loathed by all Arab and much European opinion. And he hardly endears himself to those who loathe him when he orders his army to assassinate Israel's enemies. Last weekend's killing of the new leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, just after that of his predecessor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, has been condemned by almost every government (except America's) not only as unlawful but also as counter-productive. When will the Israelis learn that meeting Palestinian violence with more violence, instead of sitting down to talk, simply feeds the famous "cycle of violence"?