Dreams of Mideast peace

While the world longs for everlasting peace in the Middle East, the belligerent parties -- the Israelis and the Palestinians -- continue to blame each other for the spiraling violence in the region. Each holds the other responsible for ending the waves of killing of innocent people on both sides.

Air strikes were carried out by Israeli helicopter gunships and F-16 warplanes on Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bomber last Friday who killed five Israelis. The strikes were not a wise means to end the grudge since violence only breeds more violence. At least 14 Palestinians were killed during the air strikes on Friday and Monday.

The ongoing waves of violence began last September after hawkish Likud party leader Ariel Sharon led a delegation to the Temple Mount -- known to Muslims as Haram-al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary -- a site in Jerusalem that hosts shrines sacred to followers of both Judaism and Islam.

Sharon is much reviled by the Palestinians as well as the Arab world because it was he, as defense minister of the Jewish state, who orchestrated Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 that led to the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees at their camps in Sabra and Shatilla.

After that well-publicized visit by Sharon, who won Israel's Feb. 6 general election and became prime minister, violence began to spiral and crowds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank started attacking Israeli security forces with stones and guns. The fighting has continued to this date and more than 560 people, mainly Palestinians, have been killed.

Against this gloomy backdrop, a blueprint for revitalizing the peace process in the Middle East, issued by a commission led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, gives a ray of hope to the international community.

Mitchell's fact-finding commission calls for the opposing parties to take measures to rebuild trust and resume peace talks.

This should include, among other things, the immediate implementation of a cease-fire and a moratorium on the construction of Jewish settlements in Gaza, one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian armed conflict, apart from the question of the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem.

The commission urges the opposing sides to resume their joint- security cooperation and to denounce the use of terrorism and lethal weapons against each other in settling their problems.

The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority have in general terms agreed to the Mitchell blueprint that has also been warmly welcomed by the United Nations and the European Union. Sharon and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat should therefore make use of the proposal to resolve their problems through negotiation and not by force.

This can only happen when Israel stops establishing settlements in Palestinian territory and stops using its sophisticated war machine to kill Palestinian people. For its part, the Palestinian Authority must prevent its diehards from shooting Israeli soldiers and civilians.

Unless the current leaders of the two peoples take concrete steps to stop the violent actions launched by their diehards, peace in the region will remain elusive. Let us all pray that future leaders of the Palestinian and Israeli people will know better and do the right thing to achieve their ultimate goal, which is to coexist as two neighboring nations while their people live in peace and prosperity.