Tourism Minister Benny Elon told reporters last night that Prime Minister Sharon expressed regret for his use of the word "occupation" in referring to Israel's presence in the Biblical areas of Judea, Samaria and Gaza - but it's too late. "An error from the mouth of the ruler is irreversible, even if he regrets it afterwards," Elon said, according to Ynet. "Very hard Israeli public relations work goes down the drain from one mistake like that." MK Uri Stern, also of the National Union party, said that "occupation" is a major code-word de-legitimizing Israel's position and granting legitimacy to terrorism.