OVER 7,400 people have been killed in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians since the collapse of the Camp David peace talks in the summer of 2000 and the start of the second Palestinian uprising. More than eight in ten of the fatalities have been Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces, according to figures compiled by B'Tselem, an Israeli human-rights group. The early years of the uprising were the bloodiest for Israelis under attack from suicide bombers. But security in Israel improved progressively from the spring of 2002. Palestinians have felt the brunt of Israeli security actions, compounded by an internal Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian gun and suicide bomber largely gave way to rockets, of which thousands have been fired at southern Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip. For the past year, Israelis and Palestinians have experience a lull in violence. But how long will it last?

AP