He tried to persuade Arabs and Israelis that the current situation would get worse if they did not lay aside their "overblown dreams" in favor of a settlement.

Persuading Israelis that they can trust Mr. Assad is not an easy task.

The United States had intervened to persuade the British, French and Israelis to withdraw their forces.

They are hoping to draw more international support for their cause, while persuading Israelis that those territories are not worth the trouble.

As many in the P.L.O. leadership well understand, they have to persuade Israelis that they are serious about peace.

Rather it is that he has not persuaded Israelis, on a gut level, that he and his party are tough enough to bring this about in a safe way.

But the officials acknowledge that they must persuade Israelis that the new course will not undermine their security.

Similarly brief arrests have become a Gaza routine, persuading most Israelis that Mr. Arafat's promises to get tough are empty words.

Along the way, Mr. Sharon persuaded Israelis that they had been dangerously naïve.

The best way to persuade Israelis of that is for Palestinians to campaign for one person one vote and a unitary state.