A Moment for the Mideast

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has just suffered the first defection from his coalition. The far-right, seven-member National Party withdrew, declaring that Israel should not accede to American demands for restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Is this really the moment for the United States to put pressure on Sharon to reach some sort of accommodation? It is.

Acutely aware that moderate Arab states’ backing of the anti-terrorism coalition is precarious, the U.S. is preparing a new round of peace proposals. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has hosted Yasser Arafat in London and called for the formation of a unified Palestinian state. It would appear that Blair is acting as a stalking horse for Washington. Indeed, President Bush has already indicated that he supports the idea of Palestinian statehood.

Initially, hawkish Israeli politicians seemed to assume that the U.S.-led war on terrorism would give them a green light to crush the Palestinians. Sharon himself became more belligerent. But the American assault and the need to keep the coalition together have prompted the Bush administration to take a more hard-nosed view of Israeli moves against the Palestinians.

Sharon has withdrawn troops and relaxed military blockades in the West Bank and stated Tuesday that he would accept a limited Palestinian state. However, the policy of assassinations continues unabated.

Arafat, meanwhile, seems determined not to repeat the mistake of the Gulf War when he took Saddam Hussein’s side. Arafat has explicitly attacked Osama bin Laden’s claim to represent the Palestinians, decried terrorism and urged a resumption of peace talks. Israeli officials see Arafat as a loathsome opportunist who is exploiting the war on terrorism to rehabilitate himself and the Palestinian movement while doing nothing to crack down on homegrown violence. Arafat’s police turning their guns on pro-Bin Laden demonstrators undermines this view.

Arafat’s grip on power is tenuous, but he remains the only Palestinian with whom Israel could reach some kind of lasting truce. Just as Sharon is probably the only Israeli who could implement it.

The basis for such an agreement is not enigmatic. In May, a commission headed by former Sen. George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) outlined a series of measures, including a cease-fire, confidence-building steps and resumption of peace talks. This remains the best path, and Bush and Blair are clearly intent on nudging Sharon and Arafat onto it. To do otherwise would be to utterly cede the initiative to Islamic radicals who are seizing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to inflame the Arab world.