7/1/03

Just a pinch of peace goes a long way in the Mideast

A green sprig of hope has popped up from the parched Mideast soil, thanks to careful nurturing by the Bush administration.

The largest Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, have agreed to a temporary ceasefire. Israeli tanks and troops have been withdrawn from Gaza. Roadblocks are being dismantled. And overall, a wary sense of relief seems to have washed over ordinary Israelis and Palestinians.

There is no expectation yet that this is a lasting peace -- both sides have been through too much to make that foolish mistake -- but the mere act of taking one step back from the abyss is clearly welcomed by most. The respite is a direct result of visits to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and more recently by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Their presence was taken as visible proof of commitment by their boss, President Bush, to push the Israelis and Palestinians toward a permanent resolution of their differences.

That remains a far-off goal, of course. But at least it seems closer today than at any point in almost three years of bitter, destructive violence. And rather than dwell on the many obstacles in the path between here and peace, an approach too discouraging to contemplate, people of goodwill should focus instead on the next step in that journey, and then the step after that.

In other words, we should water that miraculous green sprig of hope. Work a little fertilizer into the surrounding soil. Keep an eye out for weeds and insects, and maybe even screen it from the harsh desert sun.

Less metaphorically, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas are scheduled to meet today in Jerusalem to talk about what comes next. Sharon has already agreed that Israeli troops would leave Bethlehem Wednesday, allowing Palestinians to resume control of that city. And Bush is talking about additional economic aid to the Palestinians as a way to make peace an even more attractive prospect.

Paying jobs, after all, can go a long way to turning young men away from terrorism.

Much of this embryonic success is no doubt due to the president's successful effort to shrink the flow of money from the Arab world to Palestinian terror groups. He has demanded the chance to produce peace, and most Arab leaders are apparently prepared to give him that chance. It is also due to a recognition among the Palestinians themselves that continued violence was a losing proposition.

If that effort continues to be successful, if anti-Israeli terrorism truly does abate in the weeks and months to come, the pressure for compromise will then swing dramatically to Israel, and by extension to the Bush administration.

At that point, the test will be Israel's willingness to abandon illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and the president's willingness to pressure Sharon to take such a step. But again, that's an obstacle for another day.

For now, the absence of bombs on buses is progress enough.