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The area remains plagued by stubborn antagonisms that baffle and dispirit virtually anyone who hopes for satisfactory solutions to age-old problems.
Events over recent months dramatize the problem. Just when it seemed that Israelis and Palestinians might reach an agreement that would let the two sides live in peace, talks broke down over issues of control over Jerusalem (see "Jerusalem: Focus of Biblical Prophecy," page 8). Violence and bloodshed leaped into the headlines. Hundreds were killed and thousands injured by bullets, stones and Molotov cocktails.
In one of many tragic incidents, several Israeli schoolchildren were mutilated and two of their teachers killed when their armored school bus was shattered by a remote-controlled roadside bomb. Some Palestinian young people have also been killed in the most heartbreaking of circumstances, bystanders caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in bloody crossfires.
In one of many tragic incidents, several Israeli schoolchildren were mutilated and two of their teachers killed when their armored school bus was shattered by a remote-controlled roadside bomb. Some Palestinian young people have also been killed in the most heartbreaking of circumstances, bystanders caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in bloody crossfires.
Ancient antagonisms are so great that political leaders are sometimes straitjacketed by their constituents. After Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak offered groundbreaking concessions on control over the West Bank and Jerusalem, many Israelis thought he had gone too far. After losing so much support, Barak called for early elections, hoping to salvage a way to remain in power. Prospects weren't promising, however, since polls immediately showed he would lose to virtually any other potential candidate.
Meanwhile, rumors circulated that Palestine National Authority leader Yasir Arafat feared assassination by Palestinian hard-liners if he accepted anything less than complete Muslim control over disputed areas of Jerusalem. Prospects for peace remain dim in an area in which disputes have long been settled by sword, bullet and bomb.
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