Another ghastly suicide bombing atrocity in Jerusalem, followed by an Israeli retaliation in Gaza, raises the prospect that a renewed cycle of violence will destroy the latest efforts to get the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolved. Last week in Aqaba the summit between President George Bush, the Israeli prime minister, Mr Ariel Sharon and the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, raised hopes that the international road map for peace could be made to work. These events show how vulnerable it is to destruction.
What is most depressing about these events is the ruthless deliberation with which they have been prosecuted. This latest series of attacks began on Sunday when five Israeli troops were killed by militant Palestinians from several different groups opposed to the road map. They continued on Tuesday with an Israeli assassination attempt against the Hamas political leader, Mr Abdel Aziz Rantisi in Gaza. He escaped and immediately vowed that Hamas "will continue with our holy war until every last criminal Zionist is evicted from our land." Yesterday's events would seem to follow on inexorably from this.
The Israeli military are estimated to have killed 150 Palestinians in targeted attacks over the last 30 months. Every one of them was followed by retaliatory suicide attacks on Israeli civilians. It is precisely this reciprocal pattern of violence that the road map has been designed to prevent. Beginning it by establishing mutual trust was always going to be the most difficult part of the process. That is why Israel's decision to launch the assassination attack on Mr Rantisi this week raises the deepest doubts about its commitment to the road map. As President Bush said, "it doesn't help Israeli security" and "will make it more difficult for the Palestinian leadership to fight off terrorist attacks."
His criticism was significant, as was his condemnation of yesterday's events and his appeal to all those with influence on the conflict "to use every ounce of their power" to prevent it escalating out of control. It is all too easy to justify the attacks on a tit for tat basis. What troubled Mr Bush most, and justifiably so, was the deliberation of the Israeli attack on Mr Rantisi, in the sure knowledge that this would undermine Mr Abbas. He has made a strong case to the US that time is needed to build up his security forces after they were destroyed by Israel, if he is to confront and disarm Hamas and other militant organisations. It is quite disingenuous for Mr Sharon's government to say Mr Abbas has not been fulfilling his side of the bargain, in the light of the close connection between Israeli targeted killings and Palestinian suicide bombings.
Mr Sharon knows full well that US goodwill is essential for Israel's security. He has felt obliged to go along with a process that is a necessary consequence of the Iraq war. If the latest peace process is to be saved from these deliberate efforts to derail it, the most determined international efforts will need to be made to halt the violence.