EDITORIAL - No peace in the Middle East

In the tinderbox that is the Middle East, the lull was just too good to last. For several weeks after the terrorist attacks in the United States there was some quiet between Israelis and Palestinians. The calm helped the United States cobble together a coalition against Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network that enjoyed the backing of several Arab and predominantly Muslim states.

As Taliban militias were routed in Afghanistan, however, and the anti-terror campaign intensified, bombs went off in a busy commercial district in Jerusalem and in a bus in the Israeli town of Haifa. The suicide bombings over the weekend left at least 25 dead, including a Filipina; four Filipinos were among the 220 injured.

The radical Palestinian group Hamas claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared a state of emergency, prohibited militant demonstrations and rounded up over 100 members of extremist groups. Late Monday, however, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared a "war on terrorism" and his troops launched air strikes, blasting Arafat’s heliport in Gaza and two buildings in the West Bank town of Jenin. The Israeli government also declared Arafat’s personal security unit, the Force 17, and the Tanzim military group as terrorist organizations. The United States, long seen as a staunch ally of Israel, said the Israelis had the right to self-defense.

In a place where territorial claims go back thousands of years, efforts to bring lasting peace have failed. Palestinians have the Arab world’s tacit support in their fight for their own state; the Israelis, who fear that the Arabs want to drive them out to the sea, have the Americans on their side. Osama bin Laden has tried to use this state of affairs as an excuse for his terrorism, and he has gained some adherents among radical Muslims. Arafat, who has made an effort to forge peace, often appears to have no control over the violent fundamentalist groups in his midst. Since the Palestinian intifada or uprising in September last year, more than a thousand people have been killed, 802 of them Palestinians and more than 220 Israelis.

Will Arab support for the coalition against terrorism fray as a result of these latest events in Israel and the West Bank? As violence erupts anew in this birthplace of great religions, the world can only pray for peace.