Editorial: Not much optimism for latest peace talks

Thursday, Aug. 23, 2001 | 9:25 a.m.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat wants truce talks to be held in Germany, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has accepted the offer. But Arafat's poor track record at previous summits doesn't offer much hope that another meeting will produce a breakthrough. When Arafat is forced to deal in specifics at these gatherings, and no matter how generous the Israeli overtures have been, Arafat refuses to agree to anything and leaves in a huff. These breakdowns in negotiations almost always result in more Palestinian terrorism against Israelis.

Even though Peres wants to meet with Arafat, the Israeli government's frustration in dealing with Arafat is at the breaking point. "Only so many times can you have a meeting that ends with a handshake and then it's followed right away by another terrorist attack," an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Washington Post in a Wednesday story. In May, just one day after an international commission led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell submitted its report calling for an end to violence, Sharon declared a unilateral cease-fire. That good-faith offer was ridiculed by Arafat and a week later was followed by a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 22 Israelis at a Tel Aviv disco. The terror has continued, including two more Palestinian suicide bombings that have killed 15 Israelis and injured about 120.

The summits are used by Palestinian terrorists as a breathing spell, allowing them to regroup and launch new offensives as soon as the talks end. It's a tragedy that Israel's sincere efforts to forge a reasonable peace settlement have been greeted instead by Arafat's contempt.