Mideast Fix Can’t Be Quick

Before leaving for the Middle East last week, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell set limited goals: reducing the violence and starting a dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He got far less. Without help from other nations, there is probably no way to get more.

Powell did help bring about at least a temporary halt to rocket attacks from Lebanon on Israel, and he promoted the notion of a regional peace conference. He also demonstrated the Bush administration’s belated engagement in the region at a high level, which must continue.

Beyond that, the regional prognosis is as grim as at any time since the resumption of clashes between Palestinians and Israelis 20 months ago. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon defied President Bush’s demand that he immediately withdraw troops from Palestinian territories they had reoccupied. That undercut the credibility of Bush and Powell and angered Arab nations, which complained that the U.S. did not pressure Sharon enough.

Many in the region believe that Sharon’s refusal to listen to Bush shows the Israeli leader has no interest in a political solution, just military operations, and Washington has effectively given him a green light. That sentiment increased due to Bush’s statement Thursday that Sharon was meeting the timetable for withdrawal from the territories. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat issued one denunciation of violence but spent much of his time attacking Israel for barring him from leaving his Ramallah headquarters.

Although the United States is the main outside force in the Middle East, other nations and regions will have to help. Egypt and Jordan, worried about pro-Palestinian sentiment that could topple their governments, need to apply their own pressure to Arafat and other Palestinian leaders to end suicide bombings.

Saudi Arabia should proclaim that message as well. Its crown prince, who will meet with Bush in Texas next week, has suggested that Arab nations normalize relations with Israel if it gives back land it seized during the 1967 war. That could be a starting point for a possible peace conference. The European Union has invited Israel and Palestinians to a Madrid meeting next week; that too can be a forum for dialogue.

Israel’s announcement that it will remain ready to blockade and invade Palestinian territories at will is an impediment to the peace process. So are different visions of what a Palestinian state will look like and how much territory Israel will yield. Continued U.S. involvement will be necessary. But diplomacy, in such a tense environment, will not work swiftly. The Bush administration has learned what all presidents since Harry S. Truman understood: There is no such thing as benign neglect of the Middle East.

Washington must stay involved even when the situation appears, as now, to offer little hope of improvement.