Israel's persistent and deliberate fuelling of the cycle of violence in the Palestinian territories is pushing our already turbulent region towards inevitable chaos and war. 
	
	
 This behaviour further confirms what has long been very clear; the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is more interested in pursuing its expansionist designs on occupied Palestinian and Arab land than in engaging in serious peace-making -- a route that would require its unreserved commitment. 
	
	
 And therefore, it has blatantly obstructed all international, US, European, and regional efforts to consolidate an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire as a prerequisite for the implementation of the Mitchell and Tenet recommendations. 
	
	
 Many observers inside and outside the region had rightly feared that Israel would callously exploit the Sept. 11 tragedy in the US to intensify and accelerate its aggression against the Palestinians and crush their efforts towards claiming their legitimate rights to freedom and independence. 
	
	
 The Sharon government is doing exactly that, in total disregard and utter defiance and disrespect of advice from Washington and London, as well as other governments, for restraint and a quick return to the negotiating table. Instead, it opts for brute force in dealing with a crisis, the exit from which, can only be achieved by the resumption of peace talks on the basis of the Mitchell report and the Tenet understandings. 
	
	
 The US expects its friends to provide it with understanding, cooperation and full support in confronting the perpetrators of the devastating attack on its centres of economic and military power. 
	
	
 But instead of reciprocating, Israel, the state that since its creation has benefited most from US protection and backing, has turned out to be a fair-weather friend. Its self-seeking manipulation of the tragedy, which, if Tel Aviv has not noticed, has affected every corner of the earth, adds yet another burden upon Washington. Sharon's likening of his invasion of Palestinian territories and the assassinations to the US-led war against the Taleban and Osama Ben Laden is abhorrent. Sharon's deceptive ploys cannot negate the fact that President Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian National Authority have and are still, even while under attack, doing their utmost to demonstrate their unambiguous commitment to stop violence, maintain the ceasefire, and get back to negotiations. 
	
	
 As the entire world is engaged in handling one of the most serious crises of our time, it is about time that Sharon and his government realise that predatory behaviour will not be tolerated for long. There is an evident international resolve to put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict in all its aspects. The calls from Washington and London for the just and legitimate realisation of Palestinian statehood as part of such a settlement, should be viewed by the Israeli leadership as a guarantee of Israel's peace and security, but continued violence and aggression, as history has shown time and again, is a recipe for disaster.