News Analysis: Tit-for-Tat Violence in Mideast Will Get Nowhere

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 31, 2002

News Analysis: Tit-for-Tat Violence in Mideast Will Get Nowhere

Israel's latest move to retaliate against an increase of Palestinian suicide bombings has pushed the volatile Mideast situation to the brink of chaos.

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Israel's latest move to retaliate against an increase of Palestinian suicide bombings has pushed the volatile Mideast situation to the brink of chaos.

The retaliation has had grave consequences on peace and stability in the region and has aroused serious concerns in the international community.

Israel on Friday declared Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat its enemy following the latest round of Palestinian bombings. In the toughest offensive in 18 months of conflict, Israel sent troops and tanks into the West Bank city of Ramallah to smash into Arafat's headquarters, endangering the life of Arafat.

However, the escalating cycle of violence in the region over the past year has proved time and again that tit-for-tat violence can do nothing to help resolve the conflict.

Since Likud leader Ariel Sharon visited the Islamic holy site of Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and triggered a new wave of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, Palestinian militants -- bent on ending Israeli occupation through violent means -- have launched a stringof suicide bombings.

Israel responded with increasingly tougher measures, demolishing Palestinian homes and buildings, imposing a siege on Arafat's headquarters, and readily resorting to killing, especially "targeted killings" of Palestinians suspected of involving in attacks against Israelis.

But contrary to the intention of its designer, Israeli policy has led to an escalating cycle of violence, rather than helped endthe conflict, which has claimed more than 1,600 lives and wounded thousands on both sides.

The root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict lies in Israel's occupation of Arab land. Israel, a military superpower in the Middle East with sophisticated weapons and well-trained troops, cannot strangle the wishes of Palestinians to win national dignity,independence and self-rule. It will get the Jewish state nowhere if it bases its fundamental policies on the use of military force.

Similarly, it should be clear to the Palestinian militants thatthey have committed crimes with the killing of innocent Israeli citizens, and such killings can do nothing to advance their cause.

Observers here believe the only way out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in the implementation of relevant U.N. resolutions and adherence to the rule of "land for peace."

The recently concluded Summit of Arab States adopted a peace proposal initiated by Saudi Arabia offering Arab normal ties with Israel in exchange for Israel's full withdrawal from all territories occupied since the Middle East War in 1967 and the right of Palestinian refugees to return home.

Many political analysts view it as a win-win proposal and are hopeful that Israel will accept it, as the tit-for-tat violence can solve nothing but lead to an escalating cycle of more hatred and violence.

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