Returning Gaza

Young Israelis complained and screamed. A young mother shouted "They have no right!"

Try though they might -- sometimes pouring acid water and stonewalling tactics to fend off soldiers -- even the hardiest objectors could not resist the combined will of the Israeli army.

Scenes of desperate resistance by Jewish settlers against their eviction from Gaza have been a feature of broadcast news during the past week.

Though it is easy to sympathize with the loss felt by these Jewish settlers, one can only say that their grievance pales in comparison to the four decades of suffering inflicted on the Palestinians as a result of Israel's occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank.

If the young Jewish mother screamed "they have no right!", one should in turn question the right of every Israeli in Jewish settlements that occupy Palestinian land.

No matter how painful it is for the thousands of Israelis who have to be removed, theirs was a criminal settlement built on pilfered land at the price of Palestinian suffering.

There is no subtle way of saying it, those settlers should be evicted. Sympathy should not come in the way of doing what is right. The World Court says these Jewish settlements are illegal under international law.

The Gaza Strip and the West Bank belong to the future state of Palestine, of which Jerusalem will be its capital. There can not and should not be compromise on this matter.

Though it is easy to remain wary of Tel Aviv, one must recognize Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's determination to carry out the withdrawal in spite of the move's unpopularity with his Jewish constituents and the other political risks it involves.

Considered by some as the "Butcher of Sabra and Shatilla" for his role in the 1982 massacre in the two Palestinian refugee camps, Sharon is turning into the unlikeliest of peacemakers.

His persistence -- albeit with significant prodding from Washington -- has given hope to a peace process that was effectively killed with the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Pending future withdrawals in the West Bank, Sharon's move may help revive peace talks that have stalled for more than four years. More historic developments are likely to come, with the Israeli government ordering the evacuation of Jewish settlements in Sanur and Homesh -- an area known by Jews as northern Samaria, the heart of Biblical Israel.

But much remains to be proven, and it has been Israel that has usually scuttled or ignored international conventions concerning the Palestine issue. Hence ours, and the world's, apprehension is warranted.

The hope is now that both sides can show greater cooperation, patience and determination to pursue the difficult road to peace.

There will be those, who for their own selfish reasons, will seek to undermine the peace efforts -- the ultranationalists, radical Zionists and militant Palestinian groups.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas also has tremendous hurdles to overcome, not in the least to convince his people that peace is on the horizon and its dawn will only come if all parties relinquish their weapons.

The challenge is for Sharon and Abbas to create a common vision the way Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin did when they succeeded in drafting the historic Camp David accords.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono since taking office has consistently pursued Indonesia's foreign policy stance of supporting the Palestinian cause. It is a noble pursuit which must be wholly backed.

He has also hinted his desire to visit Palestine before the end of the year. If Israel continues to proceed with the withdrawal as planned, Susilo's visit would indeed be timely, marking the most significant Israeli concession in many years.

Despite its best intentions, the geopolitical and economic reality is Indonesia is unable to play any sort of significant mediating role in the Middle East peace process. Nevertheless it can provide moral support.

A visit by the President from a country with the world's largest Muslim population highlights these positive developments in the Palestine issue and could lend Abbas the necessary political support to pursue the tough decisions he will inevitably have to make.

Susilo might well remind Abbas of Indonesia's own experiences as a newly forming nation. Of how Indonesian civilian leaders had to tussle with armed advocates to convince them that ultimately compromise and negotiation, not violence, was the way to achieve independence.