November 5, 2001	Monday	haba’an 18, 1422

LONDON: Amid the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians for a decade, Israeli tanks are reoccupying West Bank cities. In the context of future relations between the Muslim world and the West, it is a very dangerous moment. But for all the challenges posed by this escalation of violence, there now exists a unique opportunity for America and its allies to reassess their role in the Middle East and its abortive peace process.

For entirely pragmatic reasons, the current Western alliance has recognized that support for the campaign against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban is inextricably linked in the Muslim world to a just resolution of the Palestinian question. British prime minister Tony Blair, for all the criticism he received after his bruising encounters last week in Syria and Saudi Arabia, is right to try to exploit this opportunity by declaring support for a viable Palestinian state. He is also right to offer himself as interlocutor for Yasser Arafat at a time when Arafat is being pressed by hardliners among his own people. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has also been active behind the scenes, drawing up new proposals designed to lead to a final settlement of a Palestinian state.

These moves have been accompanied on the American side by a growing irritation with Israel over its provocative policies of ‘targeted killings’ of freedom fighters, military incursions and closure of Palestinian cities. This cooling of the friendship between Israel and its most important ally can only be welcomed. For a decade, Israel has counted on its relationship with the US to stall, obfuscate and avoid its obligations under the Oslo peace agreement. All the time, it has cited spurious ‘security reasons’ for policies that amount to attempts to legitimize a grab of land and natural resources in the territories occupied in the 1967 war.

Blair and Bush have taken a critical step forward in invoking international justice to justify the war on Afghanistan. They must also be consistent in insisting that justice be done in Palestine. This means that the ‘viable’ Palestinian state they both look for should not be the emasculated rump envisaged by Ariel Sharon, Israel’s Prime Minister, who will be in London this week to see Blair en route to America.

Both the US and Britain must now demand that Israel abides by UN resolutions requiring a retreat to its 1967 borders, including the withdrawal from the eastern sector of Al Quds and the Al Aqsa mosque and the evacuation of settlements on Palestinian land. While insisting there is no tolerance of Palestinian extremists who believe that Israel should cease to exist,Blair must tell Ariel Sharon what it took successive British governments 30 years to learn in Northern Ireland - you cannot defeat the bombers in your midst only with armies and assassination. You have to use justice and negotiation, too. As the Arab proverb has it: “There is no point swatting flies if you have not drained the swamp.”

pro-peace RALLY: Tens of thousands of pro-peace Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to mark the sixth anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

Rallying at the spot where the left-wing prime minister was gunned down by an ultra-rightist Jew opposed to his policy of trading land for peace with the Palestinians, Israelis lit candles, clasped hands and listened to mournful ballads.

The nighttime ceremony here was a mostly subdued tribute to Rabin, whose legacy has been stained by a cycle of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that began 13 months ago after peace negotiations broke down. Since then, at least 689 Palestinians and 183 Israelis have been killed.

With the peace process that Rabin helped engineer left in tatters, Israel’s “peaceniks” have been plunged into disarray. “There is a tremendous sense of disillusionment on both sides,” said Galia Golan, a leading Peace Now activist, as she carried a large placard through the crowd. “There is no question the peace movement has a lot to do to recover lost ground.”

Golan expressed hope that the large turnout in Tel Aviv’s central plaza, renamed Rabin Square, would help regalvanize the peace cause. Despite that, many in the crowd — mostly members of Israel’s political left, which formed the core of Rabin’s following — were pessimistic about the prospects for a quick end to the violence.

They apportioned blame mostly on Israel’s right-wing prime minister Ariel Sharon .

But peace activists urged a resumption of long-stalled peace negotiations as the only alternative to more killing. “Tonight all of us here...return to the call that Yitzhak Rabin sounded on this platform six years ago, a preference for the path of peace over the path of war,” Dalia Rabin, the slain leader’s daughter, said from atop a stage outside city hall.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was one of the few major political figures to make an appearance at the memorial, whose organizers made it clear that Sharon was not welcome.

Palestinians, who accuse Sharon of ratcheting up the conflict, have complained about the silence of Israel’s doves. Palestinian political analyst Ghassan al-Khatib said that the Rabin memorial could set the stage for new efforts at reconciliation. “We have missed the peace camp in Israel,” he said. “Tonight’s rally could be a hopeful beginning. —Dawn/The Observer News Service/Reuters