No one believes Israel is a safer place just after the assassination of Sheik Ahmad Yassin, leader of the terrorist group Hamas.
The question is whether the assassination and continued Israeli pressure on Hamas will contribute to stability over time.
The death of Sheik Ahmad Yassin will pave the way to Palestinian moderation, Israel and its friends in Washington say.
But others, including Bush administration officials, are worried that the road just got a lot bumpier.
If Israel pulls its troops out of Gaza, how can Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be sure that Hamas won\’t seize power in the ensuing chaos?
In dying, Reem al-Reyashi dealt a double blow: to Israelis who hoped Hamas had decided to show restraint and to fellow Palestinians quietly earning a living in one of the few places where Israeli-Palestinian cooperation still thrives.
Having read your editorial commentary in this week\’s issue, I was tempted to turn back to the front page to reassure myself that I was not reading the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times (\”Accord Allure,\” Dec. 5).
Two suicide bombings struck the Jewish State Tuesday, killing at least 15 victims and wounding dozens. The two attacks left the U.S.-backed \”road map\” peace plan in tatters and marked a new surge of deadly violence in the nearly 3-year-old intifada.
A timeline of the most significant developments since the Oslo accords were signed 10 years ago this month.
The overwhelming evidence from statements by the PLO leadership was that it viewed the Oslo process as a tactical necessity to realize its ultimate strategic goal of recovering the entire territory of British Mandatory Palestine — including the area of Israel.
When Oslo was signed, Labor leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres were careful not to commit themselves to Palestinian statehood for fear of sparking a public outcry. Now, 10 years later, over 60 percent of Israelis — including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of the Likud — back the two-state solution.
Killing Hamas leaders wounds the terrorist group, Israeli and Palestinian officials agree.
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