As Israeli tanks push their way into one Palestinian population center after another it has become more and more difficult to guess what political objectives might be driving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He says he wants to destroy the "infrastructure" behind the suicide attacks against the Israelis. We can understand this as an immediate military objective, but nothing will be achieved by the operation politically. The temporary security it may produce will be lost immediately if the troops are withdrawn. 
	
	
 The desperate tableau that has emerged in the last few days is becoming even more dismal, and the administration of President George W. Bush does not appear to have any sort of logical Near East policy. In the past week, the United States has taken a stand in support of the Saudi Arabian peace plan. In the United Nations, it supported [a call for] the removal of Israeli troops from the cities in the occupied areas. Nevertheless, in his subsequent remarks, Bush encouraged Sharon to continue. 
	
	
 Suicide attacks do not require an extensive infrastructure. A few kilograms of explosives, a simple detonating fuse, and a desperate hatred are the most important ingredients. The categorical moral condemnation of terrorism is self-evident, but this will not free Israel from the problem it faces. Israeli's own 35-year-old occupation and resettlement policies have created the breeding ground for the terrorism that Sharon is now trying to root out by resorting exclusively to military means. 
	
	
 Even if, contrary to all reason, the operation turns out to be successful, the underlying problem would remain the same as before. Israel is responsible for about three million bitter people who lack political rights. The only means of preventing a return to terrorism would be [to launch] a counter-terrorist effort that extends to every village. This would soon erode both what is left of the army's reputation and its military cutting edge. 
	
	
 Israel's resettlement policies have been justified on the grounds of security. The last few months have demonstrated that, on the contrary, they have become an extraordinary burden. Traffic to the settlements prevents the effective monitoring of Israel's borders. The high birthrate of the Palestinian population guarantees that it will not be possible to change the population balance of the occupied territories by stepping up resettlement [by the Jewish population]. 
	
	
 Since Sharon refuses to offer the Palestinians their own state with acceptable borders and conditions, there are two alternatives left. One would think that no politically prudent Israeli could support either of them. 
	
	
 The first would involve continuous occupation and [the development of] an apartheid state similar to South Africa. Terrorism will not be absent from such a country and, in the process, Israel will lose the right to count itself among the world's democracies. The other alternative entails the massive expulsion of the three million Palestinians to neighboring countries with the human and political catastrophe that would accompany this. Sharon, of course, will not admit that he is planning anything like this, even though the idea has been discussed in Israel. The Prime Minister should explain once and for all what third objective he might have for his actions. 
	
	
 It is high time for the United States to hurry to offer its assistance. The ingredients for a decision are in large measure in place if they would only be admitted by the two sides. They are the simultaneous ending of the violence and the [Israeli] resettlement policy followed by negotiations on the basis of the recent Saudi Arabian proposal and the earlier results of the talks at Camp David and Taba. 
	
	
 By supporting Sharon's irresponsible saber rattling, Washington places strains on its relations with the Arab countries and needlessly puts off a settlement, in which it must some day play the role of midwife.