For all intents and purposes Yasir Arafat is Mr. Palestine, he has been the symbol, the substance, the servant and the savior of the Palestinian national movement. His time in power, however, although it may not be numbered in days or months, will certainly last no more than a year or two. Who

t is not up to the Likud Party or any other political party in Israel to decide whether or not a Palestinian state should be created. The eventual establishment of a Palestinian state has been and will continue to be the Palestinians' national right. Opposing it in principle is at best arrog

The Bush administration's call for an international conference on the Middle East this Summer was precipitated by the convergence of events that has dramatically changed the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proposed conference can make important progress toward peace

By believing that they could force Israel out of the West Bank through violence as Hizbullah presumably had forced Israel to evacuate Southern Lebanon, the Palestinian leadership have made a disastrous mistake. Their equating Southern Lebanon with the West Bank has given the Palestinian public

From the birth of Israel in 1948 to this day, no individual entity, group or state has undermined the Palestinian cause and perpetuated their plight more than the Arab states collectively. It remains up to the Arab leaders, especially those of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to seek an end to th

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 willing

The United States, and only the United States, is the final political arbiter between Israel and the Palestinians, for only we have the power to stop the current ferocious cycle of mutual destruction. Unfortunately, up until now the Bush administration has shown no vision for peace, no determin

NEW YORK, April 22 (UPI) — NEW YORK, April 22 (UPI) — In an article by Akram Baker, a former communications advisor to the Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs (the late Faisal Husseini), and published by UPI on April 18, the writer strongly admonishes the Israelis for their occupation.

The momentum generated by Crown Prince Abdullah's peace proposal, the United Nation's resolution calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the Bush administration's renewed commitment to end the violence, coupled with the growing internal Israeli as well as Palestinian pressure on their respective authorities to halt the escalating violence, could produce a cease-fire that will subsequently lead to political negotiations.