MIDDLE EAST TRUCE

 Editorial de   “The Washington Post” del 09/02/2005

Por su interés y relevancia, he seleccionado el editorial que sigue para incluirlo en este sitio web. (L. B.-B.)

Israelis and Palestinians witnessed yesterday the most inspiring and hopeful moment in more than four years of bloody conflict. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Mahmoud Abbas sat together at a conference table and declared an end to all military activity and acts of violence -- the strongest commitment the two sides have made to each other since the collapse of the Camp David peace talks and the eruption of the Palestinian uprising in September 2000. Since then some 3,300 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis have died, including hundreds of Israeli civilians slaughtered in pizza parlors, coffee shops and buses by suicide bombers, and scores of Palestinian children killed by Israeli army fire or airstrikes. The shooting probably won't stop entirely, at least not right away, and the prospects for a broader political settlement remain cloudy. Still, the public commitment of the new Palestinian leadership to ending violence, and Israel's corresponding promise of a cease-fire, is cause for celebration -- and the essential predicate for a new peace process.

The summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik was the culmination of a remarkably rapid movement by Palestinians and Israelis toward accord since Yasser Arafat's death in November. Defying predictions of chaos or even civil war, Palestinian elites and much of the public have lined up behind Mr. Abbas, who in turn has so far skillfully countered challenges from Islamic militants. Mr. Sharon, who did little to help an attempt by Mr. Abbas to end the conflict in 2003, when Mr. Arafat was still alive, has been more accommodating this time: In addition to promising that "Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere," Mr. Sharon has pledged to withdraw Israeli troops from five West Bank towns in the next three weeks and release some 900 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli prime minister, meanwhile, is pressing his initiative to remove all Israeli soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip and one part of the West Bank by later this year; if the cease-fire holds, that withdrawal could be a major victory for moderates on both sides.

The Bush administration and its Arab and European allies have hit on a rare combination of cooperation and effectiveness in recent weeks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not attend yesterday's conference, which allowed for the heartening spectacle of Israeli and Palestinian leaders working together under the sponsorship of Arab neighbors Egypt and Jordan. But Ms. Rice made clear a U.S. commitment to the emerging detente through her visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah earlier in the week, her appointment of an American general to help broker and monitor Israeli-Palestinian security arrangements, and the invitations to Mr. Abbas and Mr. Sharon for White House meetings in the near future. Meanwhile, the United States will gather with European allies in London for an international conference on helping the Palestinians build a new economic infrastructure, security apparatus and democratic institutions.

It is easy, maybe even prudent, to be pessimistic about the chances for a deeper Palestinian-Israeli accord. Both Mr. Abbas and Mr. Sharon face daunting and possibly violent battles with extremists in the coming months; both cling to deal-breaking goals, including Mr. Sharon's agenda for Israeli control over large parts of the West Bank and Mr. Abbas's insistence on a "return" by Palestinian refugees to Israel. Yet the possibility now exists of concrete and genuine change for the better: the elimination of checkpoints and roadblocks; the removal of Israeli settlements and transfer of all of Gaza to a reformed Palestinian administration; the return of prisoners to their families; and best of all, a diminishing of the tragic losses and pervasive fear that have haunted both Israelis and Palestinians for more than four years. A cease-fire is only a cease-fire, but for Israelis and Palestinians, it could also be, as Mr. Abbas yesterday put it, "the start of a new era."