Near Netzarim, the gunships opened fire. While the Israelis have overwhelming military superiority, Palestinians have ratcheted up the firepower as well. During the 1987-92 uprising that eventually culminated in the start of the peace process, Palestinians were armed with little more than makeshift weapons of stones and slingshots. Now the territories are awash in guns, including automatic weapons carried by Palestinian police, who at times have joined in the fighting, turning their fire on Israeli troops. Although the vast majority of Palestinian rioters wield only stones and bottles, sophisticated arms such as sniper rifles and automatic weapons have increasingly come into play.
Some fighters protect themselves with flak jackets.
The street battle were sparked by a visit last week by Ariel Sharon, the leader of the hard-line opposition Likud party, to a Jerusalem shrine revered by both Muslims and Jews that is at the center of the deadlock in Mideast peace talks. On both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide, airwaves were dominated by nonstop battle bulletins, and rhetoric from both sides reflected a growing public sense that events had moved to a war footing. Barak, who traveled into the West Bank to hold a news conference near Ramallah, was asked if the peace process could move ahead while the fighting went on at this level. When we throw stones, when we attack the Israelis, it is better than negotiations.