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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief  Timothy Kudo

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 Michael Falcone

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 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

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 Edward Chiao

 Kelly Rayburn

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 Edward Chiao

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Perhaps this is what Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meant when he said his “hand is outstretched to the Palestinians in peace.”

But if Sharon’s idea of a peace offering is cutting off communications, food supplies and surrounding Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in Ramallah with the Israeli army, any chance at peace seems improbable.

Israel’s military offensive into the West Bank is the latest assault in the circular war being fought in the Middle East – one side responds to the other’s attacks with ever more escalated resistance. These latest events demonstrate that neither side’s leader is serious about achieving peace.

Sharon is operating under immense pressure to protect Israelis from terrorist attacks. And while defending his country from terrorism is justified, Sharon’s retaliation hasn’t been measured – and its failure is evident by the continued terrorist attacks against his country. Sharon incorrectly believes that isolating Arafat in his compound will hinder his ability to coordinate terrorist attacks against Israel. But all this is doing is giving Arafat a reason to defend his people – and since Palestine doesn’t have the luxury of the U.S.-funded military Israel does, they resort to what has proven an effective attention-getter: suicide attacks. And so the cycle continues.

The only rational solution to stop this war is for international leaders to unify and coerce Sharon to take the first step toward a unilateral cease fire. Because Palestinian groups’ allegiance to Arafat is questionable, especially in the face of ongoing attacks, the only chance at a productive cease fire is if Israel initiates it.

A dedicated unilateral cease fire would show that Sharon is genuine about his willingness to work toward peace and put the pressure on Arafat to not just publicly denounce the terrorist attacks, but to call them off all together in an effort to broker a peace treaty. A cease fire would represent a last chance for both Arafat and Sharon. If Arafat can’t stop the suicide attacks made by his Palestinian followers against Israelis and Jews even after Sharon pulls his army back, then Arafat must not be considered a legitimate leader by any country.

The Arab League has urged Sharon to accept a peace treaty brokered by the league’s 22 delegations. Under the peace treaty, if Israel agrees to withdraw from the territories it captured in 1967 (the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza Strip), then the Arab states will offer fully normalized relations with the Jewish state. While Sharon has viewed any Arab treaty with skepticism, he must realize that there are no alternatives. Israel cannot extinguish a terrorist threat and Palestinians cannot expect the destruction of Israel. Furthermore, signing a peace treaty would be the most logical move to protect Israelis from terrorist attacks, which is what Sharon should be striving for.

Israel holds an advantage on the strength of their military, but if Sharon isn’t willing to compromise, then people on both sides will continue to die.

President Bush has consistently toed the line in his support for Sharon, but his influence in the Middle East has up to now been ineffectual. The president has the capability to wield significant influence over both sides of the conflict: he can threaten to stop recognizing Arafat as a legitimate leader and he can stop funding Israel’s military. Bush cannot continue acting as if the U.S. role in this conflict is unimportant.

Realistically, the conflict in the Middle East will not end until there is a Palestinian state.

But this can’t happen until each side looks beyond revenge toward a solution. And until today’s leadership does, tomorrow’s suicide bomber won’t.

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