Peace in Our Time?

Excuse me if I don't get too excited about this:

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A cease-fire deal is expected to be announced Tuesday
when Israeli and Palestinian leaders meet in Egypt.

Raanan Gissin, adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said a
cease-fire declaration is being reviewed "in minute detail" in the final hours
before the summit gets under way.

Senior officials from both sides said Monday that Sharon and new
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, were ready to announce the
cease-fire.

It just can't last. The truth is, the Palestinian Authority has limited abilities to control determined terrorist organizations bent on disrupting peace accords. And Israel, with its zero tolerance policy, will not hold back when the first suicide bomb goes off in a few days or weeks. The violence will once again cycle out of control, blah, blah, blah.

Gissin said Palestinians will declare an end to "violence, terrorism and
incitement" against Israel.

In return, Gissin said, Israel will refrain from military action "to
the extent that the Palestinians will fulfill their pledges and their
commitments."

"It will be their responsibility to stop terrorists,"
Gissin said. "To the extent that will be fulfilled, we can move forward."

(Emphasis mine.)

The PA can't stop all terrorism. As governments go, it's weak. The most powerful governments in the world are often unable to totally thwart terror activity. So, I think this is doomed to fail.

And I blame Israel. Why? Aren't they the victims? Well, yes but they are not the victims of those legitimately elected to rule the Palestinian State (such as it is) or the vast majority of Palestinians. Israel is going to have to recognize that some terrorism is still going to take place and credit the PA for doing the best it can (assuming it is doing that). Otherwise, to put it simply, the terrorists win. At this point I really think it is up to Israel to break the cycle of violence. How much they need to take and what countermeasures (reprisals) take place should be measured very carefully. Israel should not cave to knee-jerk reactions.