The US and Israel planned this assault on Palestine long time ago. See the World Socialist Website editorial, "Chronology of a pogrom: How Sharon, US prepared assault on Palestinians", April 4, 2002, at:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/apr2002/isra-a04.shtml

Pertinent paragraphs:

"Israeli troops continue to fan out across the West Bank, invading one Palestinian city after another—Ramallah, Jenin, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, Salfeet—killing and wounding hundreds, arresting and beating thousands. Contrary to the claims of the Israeli and US governments and the American media, this assault is not a sudden reaction to the latest series of suicide bombings, but rather the implementation by the Sharon government of a long-planned strategy."

"The tragic death toll in the suicide attacks—tragic in the loss of life both of innocent Israeli citizens, and of the most self-sacrificing sections of Palestinian youth—is the occasion for the Sharon government to carry out measures which have been in preparation for several years, if not the entire period since the signing of the initial Israeli-PLO accord in 1993."

"The claims of Sharon and Bush are absurd on their face. In the conflict which has erupted since September 2000, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, compared to about 400 Israelis. Yet the US posture is to present the side which has lost three times as many men, women and children as the aggressor, while the side which has done the bulk of the killing—and possesses a virtual monopoly of weapons such as tanks, jet fighters, missiles, all supplied by America—is portrayed as acting in 'self-defense.'"