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Waiting for violence to end

SYRIA, UNDER A young ruler, caused discomfort for the U.S. and its key regional ally, Israel, when in the immediate post-Saddam Hussein days it announced an intention to introduce a resolution in the U.N. Security Council proposing the declaration of the Middle East as a nuclear-free zone. Damascus, under intense pressure to fall in line or face the fate of its neighbour, Iraq, knew that no such resolution would get past the American veto. But raising the issue served to instantly expose the fact that the only nation that has in its possession the nemesis-inviting weapons of mass destruction in the region was Israel. It highlighted the strategic imbalance in the region and American duplicity that continues to tilt the scales in favour of the Jewish state and against the Arabs. Syria's move for a resolution never took off (perhaps it was never intended to) as the U.S. unveiled its seven-page "roadmap" of peace between Israel and Palestine proposing a series of mutual concessions. The blueprint had been drafted by the U.S. in concert with the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, calling for the creation of a Palestinian state and peaceful coexistence within three years and listing reciprocal actions by both sides.

The roadmap's only merit appears to be that it has the sanction and support of the quartet. Its chances of success, however, appear nil as long as there is no attempt to seek a change of regime in Tel Aviv. The war-mongering Government of Ariel Sharon is perhaps a potential landmine on the road to peace in the volatile region. Mr. Sharon, whose stewardship of the Defence Ministry saw the disastrous Israeli intervention in neighbouring Lebanon in the 1980s, was among the first to hail and embrace the Bush doctrine of pre-emption, seeking endorsement for his army's actions in Palestinian territory that have in the past year left hundreds of innocent civilians dead. With support from Washington, he has also successfully targeted and crippled the leadership of Yasser Arafat, whose vision and courage in fact launched the Oslo process and placed the region on the path to a degree of reconciliation. Mr. Sharon, who earlier this year won re-election in a country increasingly coming under the grip of Jewish orthodoxy, is the very antithesis of the socialists and the liberals who helped found Israel. Without an end to his revanchist policies there can be no hope of peace. The ever-spreading Jewish settlements in Palestine territory and bypass roads for the exclusive use of these illegal occupants, the presence of Israeli army camps and training areas and the separation wall in the West Bank are nothing short of insults to the international community.

The roadmap is a reinvention of the failed Oslo accords of seven years ago but the Palestinians have hardly a choice since the alternative is more bloodbath. The overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the effective browbeating of the Syrian leadership have been followed by the sidelining of Mr. Arafat. His Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, has the task of taking the first step on the road mapped out by Washington: bring an end to violence against Israel by consolidating security services and disarming the rebels, including the extremist Hamas. Mr. Abbas has been attempting to persuade the Hamas and other militants to agree to a truce and enter the political process. Israel has in return to dismantle the Jewish settlement outposts of the last two years and freeze all settlement activity, halt attacks on Palestinian civilians and property and resume cooperation with the Palestine Authority. Israel needs to begin only after Mr. Abbas shows success on the ground — and, with his murderous policy of intervention and occupation, Mr. Sharon will ensure that he does not. Washington can bring hope to the region only it shows the willingness to disarm Mr. Sharon and the likes of the current Finance Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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