Cycle of Violence Continues in Mideast

I am outraged by the carnage in the Holy Land. The recent murder by an Israeli army hit squad of five misidentified Palestinian policemen and the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv by a Palestinian (June 2-3) are symptomatic of a terrible spiral away from achievable peace. It is obvious to outsiders that in the end peace will involve a Palestinian state comprising the West Bank and Gaza, removal of the Israeli settlements, Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the Muslim holy sites, Israeli control of the Western Wall and a return of a token (100,000?) number of Palestinian refugees to within Israel.

Both sides need to get back to reality, which is that a compromise peace is far preferable to this bloody-minded eye for an eye. I wonder if either Ariel Sharon or Yasser Arafat is capable of that.

Nayyer Ali

Huntington Beach

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As long as Hamas and similar groups have as their sole objective to destroy Israel, there will never be any peace in Israel. For every suicide bomber who targets a bus, a market or a cafe, Israel will destroy a far larger target within the Palestinian territories. This cycle of violence has no logical ending.

Israel gets tough--shuts down roads, excludes workers, barricades borders, bulldozes homes and other buildings and even kills suspected terrorists and their supporters. Palestinian children chant “destroy Israel” in school. This pattern offers little or no hope for peace. I wish U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other world leaders lots of luck in trying to end this madness. The alternative is totally unacceptable to everyone.

Sol Taylor

Sherman Oaks

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Terrorism is war waged by those who have no other weapons. If the U.S. is serious about eliminating Palestinian terrorism against civilians in Israel, we will arm the Palestinians with enough weaponry to fight the Israeli army on the battlefield. I am in favor of a peaceful solution to the conflict, but I feel that moralizing about terrorism obscures the tremendous differences in military power between the disputants.

Phillip Bonacich

Los Angeles