A ‘Road Map’ to Peace Through a Valley of Hate
In conjunction with the Palestinian terrorist bombing of an Israeli restaurant, “Palestinian Prime Minister Urges End to ‘Armed Chaos’ ” (April 30) points out the sad truth in the area: Unless the international community and media put unwavering pressure (with consequences) on Palestinian Arab clerics and leaders against ongoing incitement of violence against the only non-Arab, non-Muslim entity in the area, no peace will ever be achieved.
No amount of hand-wringing, wishful thinking, boundary changes, cessation of settlements or cosmetic changes to the Palestine Liberation Organization will change the status quo. When the world finally realizes this, peace will come to Israel and a state for Palestinian Arabs will be realized.
Klara Shandling
Los Angeles
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Re “Mideast ‘Road Map’ Detailed,” April 29: The “road map” suggested by the Bush administration and others for solving the Palestinian-Israeli question is dead on arrival. It is almost impossible to convince the Palestinian people to abandon the only negotiating card they have, which is the armed struggle, before negotiations even start. The Palestinians have nothing to offer except peace. The Israelis have it all. They occupy the land and they retain the strongest military power in the Middle East. The Israelis will have little incentive to give anything away once they have achieved their objective.
John Youssef
Woodland Hills
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The timeline you lay out for the Israeli-Palestinian “road map” for peace reverses the order of concessions in a way that dangerously imperils Israel’s national security.
If Israel is expected to make immediate concessions regarding settlements and agree to a “provisional” Palestinian state within a year, then certainly the Palestinians must publicly declare that millions of Palestinian refugees will be allowed to “return” -- only to a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, not into Israel itself. Jerusalem and other issues are workable, but if the Palestinians still cling to the idea of a demographic conquering of Israel, then a final settlement is not within reach.
Jason A. Muss
Forest Hills, N.Y.
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No Palestinian should relinquish his weapon until every Israeli is removed from Gaza and the West Bank.
Clifton E. Barnett
Los Angeles
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