Ariel Sharon seems to have secured a permanent green light for whatever military measures he sees fit to root out Palestinian "terrorism." Late last night, Israeli forces carried out a full scale military incursion into the town of Beitunian on the outskirts of Ramallah in the West Bank, imposing a curfew on its inhabitants and terrorizing Palestinian families inside their homes.

Meanwhile in Bethlehem, Israeli troops have reinvaded Manger Square and imposed a curfew on the town for the fourth consecutive day. Once again, a full military blockade strangulates Palestinian towns and villages across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel's continued assaults against Palestinian civilians have become part of the daily suffering dictated by Ariel Sharon's military agenda, and while the international community at large remains silent before such atrocities, the Palestinians continue to suffer the most brutal forms of military occupation and suppression.

Israel's old routine of bashing the Palestinians into submission must be immediately brought to an end. The international community must act swiftly to pressure Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and allow the Palestinian people their legitimate rights to independence, freedom, and peace.

Sharon's policies will neither bring peace nor security for the Israeli people; they will merely provoke more Palestinian anger and frustration, and ultimately the threat of another desperate Palestinian suicide bomber.