THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270035
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 70 lines
While Palestinian security forces and Israeli troops fought gun battles triggered by protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israel's completion of a controversial archaeological tunnel in Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher did the usual diplomatic turn.
Christopher telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, urging them to restore order where chaos reigned.
Netanyahu, in Germany, telephoned Hosni Mubarak, requesting the Egyptian president's diplomatic aid in halting the bloodshed.
Netanyahu also telephoned Arafat, demanding that Palestinian security forces stop shooting at Israeli troops, who have been the Palestinians' partners in peacekeeping. The two leaders were to meet late yesterday.
The enemies of peace in the Middle East between Israelis and Arabs rejoiced as casualties mounted. The bloody clash is just what they want. The fuse lighted months ago when a Jewish right-wing extremist assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who committed Israel to the process of making peace with the Palestinians, had finally ignited the worst explosion since the six-year Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule of the West Bank and Gaza ended with the 1993 accord signed in Washington.
Likud Party leader Netanyahu was ever critical of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, which he said exposed Israel to unacceptable dangers. Elected prime minister in May, he took a hard line. He encouraged Jewish settlement in the West Bank and was slow to meet with Arafat to further peace. Warned of Palestinians' objections to Israel's finishing the archaeological tunnel in Temple Mountain, a site holy to Israelis, Muslims and Christians, Netanyahu waved the project on as a boost to tourism and trade. Peace with security and justice is a surer bet. Nothing else comes close.
While Palestinian security forces and Israeli troops fought gun battles triggered by protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israel's completion of a controversial archaeological tunnel in Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher did the usual diplomatic turn.
Christopher telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, urging them to restore order where chaos reigned.
Netanyahu, in Germany, telephoned Hosni Mubarak, requesting the Egyptian president's diplomatic aid in halting the bloodshed.
Netanyahu also telephoned Arafat, demanding that Palestinian security forces stop shooting at Israeli troops, who have been the Palestinians' partners in peacekeeping. The two leaders were to meet late yesterday.
The enemies of peace in the Middle East between Israelis and Arabs rejoiced as casualties mounted. The bloody clash is just what they want. The fuse lighted months ago when a Jewish right-wing extremist assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who committed Israel to the process of making peace with the Palestinians, had finally ignited the worst explosion since the six-year Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule of the West Bank and Gaza ended with the 1993 accord signed in Washington.
Likud Party leader Netanyahu was ever critical of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, which he said exposed Israel to unacceptable dangers. Elected prime minister in May, he took a hard line. He encouraged Jewish settlement in the West Bank and was slow to meet with Arafat to further peace. Warned of Palestinians' objections to Israel's finishing the archaeological tunnel in Temple Mountain, a site holy to Israelis, Muslims and Christians, Netanyahu waved the project on as a boost to tourism and trade. Peace with security and justice is a surer bet. Nothing else comes close.
If ever there was a time for cooler heads to prevail, this is it. Arafat has got to show he can control his own people. Netanyahu has got to protect Israel's interests without provoking its enemies. And in an area where the ground is holy to three world religions, a little more sensitivity about disturbing it would seem to be called for. by CNB