| |
It is just a narrow strip of land, rich in history and steeped in blood. From the earliest age, every Israeli and Palestinian child learns just how important the land is to his or her own people. They learn, too, how competing claims to the land keep their two groups locked in conflict.
|  Palestinians have limited self-rule of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. |
Like a long bout of fever, the heat of the Middle East conflict rises and falls, then rises again. In the 1990s, a possible cure was in view. Several times, Palestinians and Israelis came close to agreement. Palestinians agreed to accept the existence of Israel. In return, they received land and self-rule. But then it all fell apart. Disastrously.
The past 18 months have brought a cycle of attacks and retaliations that has cost more than 1,400 lives. In the first half of March, 183 people were killed on the Palestinian side and 62 on the Israeli side. Militant Palestinian groups have terrified Israelis by attacking in restaurants, buses and other public places. Israel's response infuriated Palestinians. Israel sent in tanks and troops into the Palestinian towns and refugee camps.
Although the Bush administration was reluctant at first to intervene, it swung into action last week. It spearheaded a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls for a quick cease-fire. For the first time, the U.N. endorsed "a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders." President Bush said he hoped that the resolution would lead to "a more peaceful world."
Bush sent retired Marine General Anthony Zinni to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Vice President Dick Cheney also met with leaders in the region.
The U.S. pressed Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas and called on Arafat to stop groups that carry out violence. Last Thursday, Israel began pulling its troops out of Palestinian towns. "My effort now is to achieve a cease-fire," said Sharon. But Arafat insisted that a partial pullout was not enough to restart peace talks.
Though a real solution still seems far away, Zinni was encouraged. "There are ingredients here for hope," he said.
