1.   Even President Bashar Assad of Syria, whose country has had bumpy relations with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, backed the Palestinians.

2.   Even President Bashar Assad of Syria, whose country has had bumpy relations with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, backed the Palestinians Tuesday.

3.   The blunt Israeli president is no stranger to diplomacy and his Cairo trip was not the first time Weizman has stepped in to smooth bumpy relations.

4.   The blunt Israeli president is no stranger to diplomacy, and his Cairo trip was not the first time Weizman has stepped in to smooth bumpy relations.

5.   Their bumpy relations have recently strained further because of fisheries and other disputes.