Israel's latest air strikes on Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip, the heaviest in months, and the ensuing threats of revenge from Palestinian militants have made much dimmer the prospects of the already stalled Middle East "roadmap."

In five air raids in the space of 12 hours on Monday, 10 Palestinians - mostly civilians - were reported killed, and nearly 100 people were injured.

The attacks were an Israeli response to an ambush by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank that left three Israeli soldiers dead and to the launch of eight makeshift rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed to continue building barriers in the West Bank and carry out target attacks against Palestinian militants.

The Israeli military actions and Sharon's words are both evil omens for the peace process and the Israeli people.

Following the killing of two of its members in Israeli attacks, Hamas threatened to inflict a painful response on Israel. The Palestinian Islamist group has already claimed responsibility for many previous suicide attacks against Israelis.

Israel and Palestine are again on the verge of yet another vicious cycle of tit-for-tat violence. It has proved difficult for the two nations to free themselves from this cycle, which has consistently been the biggest obstacle on the road to peace and conciliation.

The gloomy Middle East situation has also been aggravated by Sharon's renewed vow to "remove" Palestinian President Yasser Arafat from the political arena.

The Israeli security cabinet last month passed a resolution in principle to "remove" Arafat.

In a speech to the Israeli parliament on Monday, Sharon accused the Palestinian leader of being the biggest obstacle to peace and one of the main forces fomenting previous Palestinian violence.

Sharon's repeated determination to remove Arafat demonstrated the prime minister's unchanged stance towards the Palestinian leader, despite domestic and international opposition.

The denounced plan will surely continue to have an inestimable impact on Israel itself, Palestine and the Middle East generally.

(China Daily October 22, 2003)