Glimmer of Mideast Dialogue

Relations between Israeli leaders and the new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, started poorly, squelched the day before Abbas was sworn in by a Palestinian attack that killed six people at a Gaza border crossing. What offers a ray of optimism is what happened next on both sides.

Abbas went quickly to Gaza to publicly urge Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups to end the violence. He ordered Palestinian Authority security forces, which are key to establishing order in the occupied territories, to spread throughout Gaza, with a special emphasis on stopping rocket attacks on Israeli settlements there and across the border into Israel.

After Abbas’ Gaza meetings, Israeli security officials who had quickly canceled contacts with Palestinian counterparts renewed them. Communication at that level is essential to keep Israelis from firing on Palestinian security forces as they take up positions along the border.

A dialogue now would also develop a relationship that could prevent terrorists from taking advantage of the absence of Israeli security forces when the 21 Jewish settlements in the territory are dismantled, a move scheduled for this summer. The void could otherwise allow terrorists to lob rockets into Israel with impunity.

The settlements’ removal, though unpopular with right-wing Israelis, will eliminate a persistent irritant in Israel’s relations with Palestinians. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, once a key proponent of the settlements in Gaza and the West Bank and now a force in removing them, has warned Abbas that Israel will not stand to be perceived as withdrawing from Gaza under fire from Palestinian terrorist groups.

Either through a cease-fire by Hamas and the other organizations or by a Palestinian Authority crackdown on those groups, Abbas has to demonstrate to Israel that he is serious about ending the violence. Israel, for its part, should not allow the attacks to create a permanent rupture; that would let terrorists determine whether contacts continue.

Israel’s temporary end to meetings demonstrated the price it will extract for violence; the renewal showed its willingness to talk about ways to enforce peace. Abbas’ attempts to negotiate with militants show that Israel may have the partner for peace talks it insisted it did not have in Yasser Arafat. Both sides at least seem able to see what the fruits of peace would be for their people and their economies.