PARIAH, UNREPENTANT: People all over the world have shown their horror at the monstrous campaign of murder and destruction Israel is waging on the Palestinians; but will governments heed their citizens' urging, buttress words with actions and isolate Ariel Sharon?

Salvage operation
Washington is determined to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, but unclear as to the means of pulling back from the edge of the abyss. Nevine Khalil reviews Colin Powell's mission

A war for war's sake
What we are now seeing is the expression of the will of a people that has no choice but to resist, writes Mahmoud Darwish

See poem by Mahmoud Darwish State of Siege

Opinion

INTIFADA IN FOCUS

Egypt

Cairo presses Washington to press Sharon
Egypt, hopeful over an American change of tone, is asking Washington to put its words into actions, report Soha Abdelaty and Nevine Khalil

Invasion

Blocking humanitarian aid
A week of protests and attempts to bring humanitarian aid to besieged cities in the West Bank led to violent Arab-Israeli clashes. Jonathan Cook reports from Jerusalem

A journalist's perspective
Khaled Dawoud, back from occupied and devastated Ramallah, recalls the horror

Who counts the numbers of "dead Arabs"?
What withdrawals? Khaled Amayreh, in Nablus, reports on the Israeli army's orgy of killing

Better late than never
Not only did Powell show up in the region almost two weeks into the Israeli invasion of the Palestinian territories but he is not to actually make it to Israel until tomorrow. Anayat Durrani in Washington on a confounding US policy

Eyewitnesses to 'pure horror'
Three British peace activists, who spent last week under siege in Ramallah, spoke to Omayma Abdel-Latif about Israel's war of terror

Voices from the siege
The same message echoes over and over: please, help us. There have been many massacres, and it has sometimes been possible to say we did not know what atrocities were being committed until it was too late. This time, voices are ringing out, with increasing desperation: please, do something. The massacre is underway.. --read on--

Economy

Boycott Israel? Not so simple
Slamming Israel with an Arab boycott is not quite as straightforward as some might think. Dina Ezzat reports

Taking a stand
A boycott of Israel? The US, too? And by whom? Government, business or consumers? And would it work? Al-Ahram Weekly looks at the debates

Features

Living

Travel

The most difficult questions
Palestinian children are among the primary victims of Israel's vicious war, and the trauma is spreading throughout the Arab world. Rania Khallaf examines reactions