Show World Leaders Work Towards Peace The following editorial appe appeared red in Saturday s Post Washington Two months after the death I of Yasser Arafat politicians such as President Bush and Britain's Tony Blair are still making speeches about a moment of opportunity for progress toward an Israeli- Israeli Palestinian peace But moments pass quickly and in the Gaza Strip this one already is in motion Mahmoud Abbas who was inaugurated as the new Palestinian president only seven days ago was immediately immediately immediately immedi immedi- challenged by Islamic militants as well as b by fight fight- n ers from his own Fatah organization organization organization orga orga- who defied his calls for a fire cease-fire by staging attacks on Israeli checkpoints and firing rockets at a nearby town Israel responded with its own deadly raids and threatened a scale full-scale invasion invasion invasion inva inva- sion of Gaza To his credit Abbas responded decisively deploy deploy- ing hundreds of Palestinian security forces to prevent further further further fur fur- ther violence in cooperation with Isra Israel l. l In doing so he preserved his new administration from froman an instant loss of authority But the situation remains both fluid and fragile It could be helped by timely intervention from the foreign leaders who have been making making making mak mak- ing those speeches The first burden still lies with Abbas who must demonstrate both to his people people people peo peo- and to the world that he will decisively break with strategy of Arafat's losing publicly deploring violence against Israel while preserving preserving preserving ing and sometimes encouraging encouraging encouraging ing terrorist organizations been Abbas Abbas' intention has persuade the militants to to cease While to a agree useful move be a might that week events of the past the demonstrated that political political political have alone will not ical persuasion suffice of The deployment Palestinian forces was an important first step by Abbas toward asserting military aswell as aswell aswell well as political authority But it needs to be quickly followed fol- fol followed followed fol fol- lowed up with reorganization of the various Palestinian security services and disarming disarming disarming disarm disarm- ing those outside them Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who suspended contacts contacts contacts con con- with Abbas as a way of pressing for action is cooperating cooperating cooperating cooper cooper- with the Palestinian effort to impose order As he prepares for the planned withdrawal of Israeli settlements and soldiers from Gaza Sharon has much to gain through collaboration with Abbas A peaceful pullout governed governed governed gov gov- by accord between the Palestinian Authority and Israel would be a political victory for both leaders while a unilateral Israeli withdrawal under fire is exactly what extremist are aiming at groups If the rockets and suicide bombings continue Israel may have no choice but to take its own defensive action But if Abbas gets results Israel should cease its attacks on militants Many in Israel will oppose that step They prefer the policy policy policy pol pol- icy Sharon pursued until November which was to unilaterally unilaterally unilaterally uni uni- laterally redraw Israels Israel's borders and indefinitely postpone postpone postpone post post- pone negotiations with Palestinians That's where Bush Blair and others ought to come in US U.S. officials have been rightly rightly right right- ly pressing Abbas not to shrink from the militants' militants challenge and they have been encouraging Israel to show restraint B But t the administration also has a role to play in encouraging encouraging encouraging aging and brokering a more enduring Palestinian Israeli-Palestinian security agreement that maximizes maximizes maximizes maxi maxi- the chances for ending the violence in Gaza talked much-talked-about If that moment is really to be seized now is the time for US U.S. involvement |