Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have plenty of reasons to be paranoid, and to arm themselves.

The terrorists are: whoever goes onto someone else's ground with the intention of committing violence or fires across someone else's border or flies through someone's else's air and drops bombsd, and does violence upon the people there and destroys their property and lives.

The non-terrorist is: he who defends his own ground against the attacker (such as the Israeli policeman or soldier on the streets of Tel Aviv or the Palestinian fighter on the streets of Ramallah or Nablus).

So...the Palestinian bomber is a terrorist, the Israeli soldier in the streets of Nablus is a terrorist, the guy firing a rocket from Lebanon into Israel is a terrorist, the guy who bulldozes down a Palestinian house is a terrorist, and Arafat and Sharon are terrorists...to one extent or another.

People will argue that extent, depending on their pre-existing state of prejudice. If they are totally blinded by prejudice and fear, they will see terrorists only on one side of the issue.

- LH