Opposite Sides

DAVID SILVERMAN/GETTY IMAGES; DAVID BLUMENFELD for TIME

Almost 1,500 people in Israel and the occupied territories have been killed in the past year by the armies of an unending war: Palestinian suicide bombers, street fighters and snipers; Israeli soldiers with their tanks and guns. At a time of so much fear and death, the living turn to tough guys for leadership. In Israel, that has cemented the popularity of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who led the country's massive military operations against the Palestinians. And for the Palestinians, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the most hard-nosed leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, has become a straight-talking symbol of resistance to...

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