Ariel Sharon has threatened that the Israeli response to the latest suicide bombings will be swift and sweeping. There can be no doubt that the consequences of Tuesday night's bomb attack in which 16 people were killed will be severe for the Palestinian people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – the very people the suicide bombers and their patrons claim to be acting on behalf of. Innocent Israeli civilians are the victims of these insane and immoral attacks, and innocent Palestinian civilians bear the brunt of the predictable and inevitable Israeli responses.
The attack on a snooker hall near Tel Aviv was the first suicide bombing resulting in the death of Israeli civilians since April 12th. That attack was timed to coincide with the arrival of Colin Powell on a peace mission that was doomed to failure even before it began. The latest attack also came with precise and nefarious timing: the bomber knew his attack would have a dramatic attack on the talks between Ariel Sharon and President Bush in Washington. Those who sent him on his mission of death knew his attack had the potential of derailing the talks on lifting the weeks-long siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Ironically, the Israeli Prime Minister claims the siege in Bethlehem is aimed at ending the wave of suicide bombings once and for all and he accuses those inside the besieged church of being the key figures behind the attacks. If he is right, the siege has failed to achieve its aims; if he is wrong, the siege has been pointless and inhumane if not criminal.
It would have been difficult if not impossible for the Palestinian Authority to prevent this latest attack: Israeli forces have been all too busy in recent weeks destroying Palestinian security forces and undermining Yasser Arafat's authority. Israel cannot attack Palestinian security forces, leaving them in disarray, and then ask Mr Arafat to maintain security. Now Hamas has succeeded in bringing all peace efforts back to square one despite a series of encouraging developments over the past week, including the end of the siege of Mr Arafat's headquarters.
The attack can be seen as a desperate act by a desperate people. But violence only begets violence and Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. Despite the claims by Hamas yesterday morning that its actions have been sanctioned by its own Islamic scholars, the Islamic religious affairs ministers meeting in Malaysia this week have been unanimous in condemning terror in general and the actions of suicide bombers in particular.
The former director of the CIA, George Tenet, is on his way to the Middle East to resume US efforts to mediate. But Washington has lost much of its credibility in the region with its support for Mr Sharon and his demands for the removal of Mr Arafat. Despite those demands, Mr Arafat remains the legitimate representative of his people. The emphasis now needs to shift to finding a political solution to the crisis. Mere appeals to both sides to end the vicious cycle of violence can only remain ineffective, and a fresh Israeli military sweep is guaranteed to breed more violence. Those who offer to mediate or intervene must produce political initiatives to convince the Israelis they will have security. But they must also show an understanding for the plight of the Palestinian people, and persuade the Palestinians to repudiate the culture of suicide bombings and to find peaceful ways to end the Israeli occupation.