LEADING FROM BELOW

Palestinian public pushes deal: Militant groups discussed a three-month halt on violence Thursday. (Cameron W. Barr, June 27, 2003, The Christian Science Monitor)

The Palestinians are inching toward a cease-fire that could prove more durable than previous attempts if it leads to an easing of measures Israel has used to punish and prevent Palestinian attacks.

US and Israeli pressure is only one reason why Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has tried so hard in recent months to convince Hamas and other militant groups to lay down their arms.

Another is that Palestinians today are demanding an improvement in their situation more loudly than they are clamoring for attacks against Israel.

"We are looking for someone to ease our suffering," says longtime Palestinian human rights activist Bassam Eid. "And Hamas is just increasing it."

It is now commonplace to hear Palestinians say that nearly three years of intifada, or uprising, against Israel have yielded nothing but Israeli-imposed closures, restrictions, and checkpoints that make day-to-day living nearly intolerable.

Mr. Abbas's strategy, Palestinian analysts say, is to arrange a cease-fire in order to win from Israel an easing of the measures imposed in the name of security. "The priority for me," says Mr. Eid, "is to take off the checkpoints rather than to fix the borders of the Palestinian state."

The cease fire won't hold because the terrorists can't afford to let it, but the point is that Palestinians, just like you and I, would rather have a functioning state and economy than an extra three feet of territory. It's almost like they're normal human beings, eh? Posted by Orrin Judd at June 26, 2003 6:03 PM