Mr. Arafat enjoyed immense Palestinian support and sympathy when he was held captive under Israeli siege.

Palestinian support was not universal.

"The massive Palestinian support for the Scud attacks on Israel damaged our cause," he conceded.

The Israeli side contends that the road map is tattered, partly because of Palestinian support for the violence of the intifada.

Given Palestinian support for Iraq at the time, Mr. Baker was asked if Washington should "give up on the peace process."

The second siege re-ignited Palestinian support for Yasser Arafat.

Israel deals with terrorism by shutting its borders to Palestinian workers, and the resulting economic pain reduces Palestinian support for peace.

The Intifada has been eclipsed by the crisis in the Gulf and the Palestinian support for the Iraqi President have strained relations with western countries.

It is an interesting idea that has some Israeli and Palestinian support.

An engineer said the operation only increased Palestinian support for their leader, Yasir Arafat, who remains surrounded by Israeli forces here.