BUILDING BLOCKS TO PEACE

Just as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is pressing his rivals in the militant Hamas party to accept Israel and to work toward the creation of a Palestinian state, the Israeli government has quietly begun building a new settlement in an effort to secure more land. The Israeli action, as much as Palestinian in-fighting, shows that the Bush administration’s road map can’t guide either group to a peaceful resolution.

While it is likely that Mr. Abbas was pressing Hamas to act on a popular plan to allow creation of a Palestinian state to gain political advantage, his efforts had a chance of success. Holding a referendum on a two-state solution was the brainchild of jailed Palestinian activists, who are widely respected by the Palestinian people.

Mr. Abbas wisely backed the plan and pressured Hamas, the leading party in parliament, to do the same. Hamas rejected the two-state solution and Mr. Abbas will now put the matter to a referendum on July 31, where it has a good chance of success because the majority of Palestinians support such a plan.

To sign on to Mr. Abbas’ plan, Hamas would have to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. While this is politically difficult for a group that aims to eliminate Israel, it is pragmatic. Killing Israelis in suicide bombings, although horrific and psychologically traumatic, is not going to wipe out a country of 6 million with a powerful and well-equipped army, points out University of Maine history professor Alex Grab, who lived in Israel for many years.

Israel should have supported Mr. Abbas’ efforts. Instead, it conceded to the building of a new settlement. The new settlement, Maskiot, is in the Jordan Valley, a portion of the West Bank Israel says it must now build up as a defense against Islamic militants from Iran and Iraq. It is hard to imagine how 20 families in Maskiot will stop the supposed flow of militants across the border.

In reality, the new settlement is another Israeli attempt to “annex” more land. Israel has long been building a security fence that it intends to become the border between itself and an eventual Palestinian state. With the fence, Israel includes much more land than what was seized during the 1967 war. Palestinians, and many international mediators, want the border to be drawn along the lines of the 1967 war.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a member of Hamas, said that if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, Hamas will commit to a formal cease-fire. This is a major development, which should, at a minimum, prompt Israel to stop building new settlements. Meeting with Palestinian officials to begin discussing a two-state solution would be even better.