Religion he concluded was only part &ndash albeit a crucial part &ndash of the reason

Religion, he concluded, was only part – albeit a crucial part – of the reason. The other components were a need to identify with a symbol of power and a thirst for revenge.”The bottom line,” Dr Sarraj said, “is absolute despair. It’s not economic despair, not poverty, but political despair. These people identify with the defeated, humiliated Arab Islamic nation They can’t rely on outside help. So in the end they turn themselves into bombs.”Many children, Dr Sarraj said, had seen the humiliation of their fathers by Israeli soldiers.

They no longer admired a father who could not protect them, so they sought an alternative. Dr Sarraj discovered that many Palestinians turned to violence against their own community, but once the second, more violent, intifada broke out, they found a more appealing model in the fighter who kills for his nation.The question now is whether the cult of the martyr is so entrenched that it will be impossible for Yasser Arafat to rein in the bombers, even if he wants to.. Mr Bush said: “This is a moment where the advocates for peace in the Middle East must rise up and fight terror. Chairman Arafat must do everything in his power to find those who murdered innocent Israelis and bring them to justice.”Mr Arafat’s Palestinian Authority ­ facing the prospect of being placed in the enemy bracket in the West’s “war on terror” ­ responded by declaring a state of emergency, and issuing an unusually strong condemnation of the attacks. But this is unlikely to impress Israel’s hardline Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who cut short a visit to the US to fly home last night.

In Washington, an Israeli official said there would be “intensive action” against groups responsible for the violence. “The Americans know that Israel will fight terror in the way it sees fit,” the official said.Mr Sharon has called an emergency cabinet meeting for today amid demands from his right-wing colleagues to expel Mr Arafat, topple his regime and take the fight deeper into the occupied territories.In what may be interpreted as American approval for Israeli military retaliation, Mr Powell said it was up to Israel to decide how to respond, although Mr Sharon should consider the consequences. Israeli paratroopers shot dead four armed Palestinians south of Jenin last night as the army tightened the cordon around West Bank cities.Nor were Israelis moved by Mr Arafat’s announcement that Palestinian security forces had arrested 50 suspected Islamist militants, or by the Palestinian appeal to Israel not to retaliate so that their security services could track down those responsible. The Israeli Communications Minister, Ruby Rivlin, dismissed Mr Arafat’s condemnation as “words in the wind”.The most deadly 12 hours of suicide bombings since the Palestinian intifada broke out 14 months ago began shortly after 11.30pm on Saturday, when Jerusalem was rocked by a massive double explosion when two Hamas militants blew themselves up simultaneously in the busy Ben Yehuda Street. Ten young Israelis, who were milling around outside popular coffee bars, were killed They ranged in age from 14 to 20 About 180 more were treated in hospital. Half an hour later, a booby-trapped car was detonated 50 yards away on the other side of Jaffa Road. It burst into flames, but its presumed targets ­ rescue workers and onlookers ­ escaped unhurt.Mr Bush’s Middle East mediator, Anthony Zinni, laid a wreath on the site yesterday.