Only two days ahead of Israeli elections Ariel Sharon has proven to be a true crowd pleaser. His reelection campaign had suffered a few corruption blows, which resulted in a small decline in the number of expected seats for Sharon's Likud party at the Israeli Knesset, though he has emerged unscathed. Ariel Sharon has been successful in tapping into the Israeli psyche and is thus able to effectively manipulate and campaign what has become a blood thirsty Israeli general public. America has empowered Sharon and has indirectly turned a blind eye to the continuous murder of Palestinians and defiance of the international community's will for a peaceful solution.

In recent days, the Israeli army has escalated its attacks against a captive Palestinian population. Carrying out the biggest demolition campaign, close to 300 armored vehicles roared into the Palestinian village of Nazlat El-Issa demolishing 62 stores that were fundamental for the survival of Palestinian residents who highly, if not completely, depended upon them. This destruction took place in order to erect the apartheid wall that is being built on more stolen Palestinian lands in order to protect Israeli settlers who choose the Palestinian hilltops as the place to build their illegal colonies, a.k.a. settlements.

Ariel Sharon's campaigning did not stop after the vast demolitions in the West Bank. In the past 24 hours, there have been unprecedented incursions on Gaza city leaving over 16 Palestinians murdered. Gaza is completely surrounded by a wall, which was built by Israel in order to imprison a population of 1.2 million Palestinians, who are at the brink of starvation as unemployment reached 80% with the majority of the residents living under the poverty line. Palestinians in Gaza have so far served a two-year 'jail' sentence in their villages, cities and towns, with no possibility of parole in the near future.

"Israeli forces pulled within 100 meters (yards) of the main Palestine Square in the night-time incursion, the strongest and deepest operation inside Palestinian-ruled Gaza City since an uprising for statehood began in September 2000. Palestinian security officials said troops stormed homes and metal workshops and destroyed one of the biggest factories in Gaza, a plant that made garbage containers, before withdrawing," Reuters reported. Israeli troops have killed 12 Palestinians and injured over 50, 10 of whom are in very serious condition.

Israeli Defense Minister and war criminal to many, Mofaz, said that Israel was considering a prolonged operation in the Gaza Strip, similar to its reoccupation of most West Bank cities, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Palestinians throughout the occupied Palestinian cities and towns.

This is how Israeli leaders effectively campaign their people. The murder of Palestinians has become very popular amongst the Israeli public, and is an effective method of rallying the Israeli population and diverting attention from the corruption scandals and other numerous crimes these internationally recognized warmongers continuously commit. The Israeli people do not want peace, for they are well aware of Sharon's intentions and have been lead to believe that ending the occupation is a huge 'sacrifice,' when in reality it is a small price to pay for years of unjust occupation, discrimination and murder against defenseless Palestinians. Blinded by their hate and racism, Israelis will never make peace and give up their occupation of Palestinian lands. They will ensure that no just solution for the conflict would materialize as they continue to empower war criminals such as Sharon and Mofaz.