The Israeli Air Force (IAF), one of the best in the world, has entered Israel’s campaign of terror against the Palestinian people. Today, Friday May 18th, 2001, the IAF carried out a number of attacks against Palestinian targets in Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarem, and Gaza. F16 fighter jets bombarded several buildings, killing 10 people, and wounding 66. *

These latest attacks are a dangerous escalation by Israel that takes the ongoing conflict to alarming depths. The use of F16’s against the Palestinians is a merciless policy of excessive force against an unarmed civilian population, which calls for immediate international action.

Repeatedly, the Palestinians have expressed serious concerns about Sharon’s blood-tainted past and his militaristic mentality; today’s escalation is ample proof of the dangers posed by a Sharon-led Israeli government.

Repeatedly, the Palestinians have cautioned against Sharon’s lack of commitment to peace. Accurately described as ‘yesterday’s man’ by the Palestinians, Sharon is a detrimental factor in the peace formula altogether, whose policies are clearly aimed at sustaining Israeli occupation by brute military power. His unfulfilled promises of “peace and security” to the Israeli people only contribute to further distortion of reality; peace and security for both the Palestinians and the Israelis will only be achieved by an end to ‘Israeli occupation.’

Once again, Sharon’s face of terror has unveiled itself, inducing dangerous dimensions to a conflict already characterized by volatility and horror.

*Israeli attacks were still ongoing in Gaza and Tulkarem during the writing of this perspective, and the final number of victims is not confirmed yet.