What Rice can do

With the recent spate of violence in the Mideast, the fragility of what passes for peace between Israel and Palestinians has again become obvious. In her visit to the region this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should make clear to both sides that the United States will not accept the threatened unraveling of months of relative calm.

The provocation of this latest round of hostility is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plans to remove all Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip next month. Rather than bringing calm to the territory, Sharon’s plans have energized Palestinian radicals, who have stepped up mortar attacks on towns in neighboring Israel. The proposed withdrawal from Gaza and four small settlements on the West Bank has also divided Israel.

On Monday, Israeli soldiers fatally shot a 15-year-old Palestinian near a roadblock in Gaza; soldiers said several cars had broken through the roadblock before the shooting. And last week a Palestinian suicide bomber killed five Israelis in the coastal city of Netanya.

Sharon retaliated to that attack by reasserting control over the nearby West Bank town of Tulkarm, which the government had returned to Palestinian security control. He has also taken steps to prevent supporters of the Israeli settlers from flooding the area and resisting the evacuation. On Monday, Israeli police and soldiers blocked thousands protesting the withdrawal from reaching locations in southern Israel that might have provided them a convenient staging area to Gaza.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ attempt to force Hamas to shift its focus from terrorism to political organization is faltering. Abbas is correct that Israel has not carried through on its promise to withdraw from five West Bank cities; to date it has only removed its troops from two. But Sharon is correct that Abbas has not done enough to disarm Palestinian militants.

Rice’s trip to Israel can encourage Sharon to carry out the evacuation. Although its popularity with Israelis rises and falls, most support it. Rice should also warn Abbas that he must do more to rein in Hamas. In this she can rely on the support of Egypt, which has pressured Hamas to maintain the informal cease-fire it has largely observed since February.

A Palestinian-ruled Gaza would be an important component of an independent Palestinian state, which all sides proclaim as their goal. Rice should do all she can to help them achieve it.