Rules of the game

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The assassination of Hamas's leader Abdul-Aziz Al- Rantisi in Gaza was the first fruit of promises President Bush made to Sharon last week. The rules of the game are now obvious and Israel knows exactly what its actions entail.

In his news conference with Sharon, President Bush justified his position by saying any peaceful settlement should take into account what he called the new realities on the ground. Recognition of illegal settlements, murder of resistance figures, and denial of the lawful right of refugees to return to their homes are now part of these new realities.

Oddly enough the US president mentioned Resolutions 242 and 338 while trampling them underfoot. In clear breach of both UN resolutions Bush gave Sharon a written guarantee that no one was going to ask Israel to withdraw to its 1967 borders. Perhaps Bush was thinking of the Jewish vote. But the price Sharon exacted exceeds anything a responsible statesman would agree to pay for political gains. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 helped establish Israel. The Bush Declaration of 2004 is going to encourage Sharon and other extremists to press ahead with their expansionist designs.

The Palestinians need to change the way they do things. They need to unite. From beneath the mantle of a unified leadership one negotiating team may emerge, while another resists in full coordination. The Palestinians must avoid infighting.

Meanwhile, Arab countries must acknowledge this unified leadership and provide it with moral and material support. Arab land is under occupation in Palestine and the right to support those who resist occupation -- even the provision of arms -- is guaranteed by international law.

And it is the Palestinians' lawful right to resist so long as the occupation lasts.