The Terrible Tide Of Blood

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Neither Sharon nor Arafat dares to look as if he backed down, especially the Israeli Prime Minister, who was elected on get-tough promises. Late last month, Shaul Goldstein and other settlers warned him the toll of the intifadeh was pushing them too far. "Our patience is about up," Goldstein said. "Every day we get closer to an explosion among our people." Sharon tried to calm them. "Don't worry," he said. "Be patient." One week later, Goldstein found himself in the basement of the Gush Etzion Regional Council he heads, where the two boys' bodies were brought to be cleaned. He watched a mortician try to patch together their facial features so their uncles could identify them. In the end, Kobi and Yossi could be recognized only by their dental records.

--With reporting by Aharon Klein/Tekoa