It Is Time For Coercive Diplomacy

President Bush's decision to dispatch Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East to seek a cease-fire and search for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical and overdue. Secretary Powell's prospects for success, however, will largely depend on the willingness of the leaders of the Arab states to publically declare their utter rejection of suicide bombing against Israel and bring all the necessary pressure to bear on Arafat to accept a lasting cease-fire.

The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the other Gulf states who brought pressure on President Bush to act in order to protect their own turf must abandon their duplicitous and cynical approach to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. And Secretary Powell must make it abundantly clear to these leaders that they cannot have it both ways–preach the gospel of peace while encouraging heinous acts of terror against the Israelis. Consistent with President Bush's policy on terrorism, the United States must bring its own pressure to bear on these countries and demand that they condemn terrorism and denounce terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, Jihad and the Al-Aksa Brigade. Indeed, as significant and historic as the Saudi peace proposal might have been, it has lost its meaning and importance because the Arab leaders could not bring themselves to condemn the hideous suicide bombings in Natania, Israel, killing 27 innocent civilians celebrating their Passover dinner. The Israeli incursion into the West Bank was a direct reaction to this unspeakable crime and not in response to the Arab peace initiative, as every Arab leader conveniently and shamelessly labeled it. There is no moral equivalence between suicide bombers who indiscriminately kill innocent people and an Israeli retaliation that results in the death of the perpetrators of such terror. Hamas, which has taken responsibility for the carnage, has publically stated that its main objective was to kill the peace process, especially as U.S. envoy General Zinni was close to arranging a cease-fire. The Arab leaders must learn to distinguish between legitimate resistance to occupation and the indiscriminate killing of men, women and children inside Israel proper. No Israeli government, regardless of its political leaning, will take seriously a peace offer that comes wrapped with the insignia of suicide bombers threatening Israel's very existence.

During his visit to the region, Secretary Powell might offer Arafat one final chance to embrace a cease-fire and to move in earnest toward a dignified political solution for ending the plight of his people. Although I do not believe that Arafat will rise to this final opportunity, if there is any glimmer of hope that he might, it will depend on what Egypt's President Mubarak, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Jordan's King Abdullah, and some other Arab leaders tell him to do. It should be recalled that these leaders, with the exception of Jordan's King Abdullah, encouraged Arafat to reject former Prime Minister Barak's sweeping peace proposal, which was not dissimilar to the Saudi plan. These Arab leaders are just as responsible as Arafat himself for all the pain and suffering that was subsequently inflicted on both Israelis and Palestinians as a result of Intifadah II's eruption.

We are now facing a crossroads. Secretary Powell's visit to the region comes on the heels of 18 months of horrifying violence, unrest sweeping Arab and Islamic nations, the danger of war between Israel and its neighboring Arab states, intensified anti-American sentiments and General Zinni's three failures to arrange for a cease-fire. These conditions place tremendous burdens on Mr. Powell but also provide him with an unprecedented opportunity to break through the sinister facade and dangerous illusions that Arafat and some Arab leaders have created. We simply cannot afford another failure. We must take off our gloves, leave aside diplomatic niceties and make a clear and unambiguous demand to the Arab leaders to renounce and condemn terrorism, regardless of source or cause. They must be told that ending suicide bombing is the sine-qua-non of engaging Israel in any meaningful political discourse, and it is they who must restore Israel's confidence in the peace process. Israel may respect and abide by American wishes on just about any issue, including matters of national security, but will not be compliant when it comes to its very survival. The Arab leaders must understand that Israelis perceive suicide bombers as a threat, not only to their way of life but to their survival. Hamas and Jihad made no secret of their ultimate goal to destroy Israel. Why should Israel not take these terrorist organizations at their word especially when Arafat and other Arab leaders openly support their violent campaign against Israel. Hence, Israel is left without a choice but to deal ruthlessly with the source of this threat, regardless of any international condemnation and outcry. As President Bush aptly put it: "Blowing yourself up does not help the Palestinian cause. To the contrary, suicide bombing missions could well blow up the best and only hope for a Palestinian state."

Secretary Powell must tell the Arab leaders that if he is greeted by a renewed wave of attacks, we will end our contact with Arafat, and he may then be declared a terrorist, subject to capture and indictment. Israel has by now gathered extensive evidence linking Arafat to organized terrorism inside Israel. Yes, we must now resort to coercive diplomacy and warn the Arab leaders and Arafat of the dire consequences that the explosive conditions may precipitate if they to fail to rein in terror. And we must be as clear with Prime Minister Sharon that ultimately there is no military solution, and that he must give the Palestinians reasons to hope for a tomorrow free of the shackles of occupation. Our insistence will not only help stabilize the region for its sake and our own, but it may prevent the Palestinians and the Israelis from destroying their own future. We must not allow Arafat–a prisoner of his own past–to forfeit another opportunity for the Palestinian people to live freely in their own state in dignity side-by-side with a secure Israel.