On U.S.-Mideast peace

It seems that the U.S. efforts to breathe life into the moribund Mideast peace process will remain on hold until Israel's hardline Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signals his satisfaction that the Palestinian National Authority has carried out the massive reforms for which he lobbied for ulterior motives.

Now leading institutions savagely devastated by successive Israeli strikes, Arafat remains the butt of harsh American criticism. Whatever he does falls short of Washington's expectations. Before leaving Russia, one leg of his current European tour, President George W. Bush stepped up his criticism of Arafat saying he had failed to fight terrorism. However, Bush took no notice of Israel's incessant "state terrorism."

Meanwhile the U.S., apparently doing Israel's bidding, is putting more pressure on the embattled Palestinian National Authority to ensure that the sought-after restructuring will be pursued along Israeli-American lines.

-- The Egyptian Gazette, Cairo