Editorial: It’s time to ease up on Israel

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

Last week President Bush demanded that Israel withdraw its military forces from Palestinian-controlled areas in the West Bank. But over the weekend Yasser Arafat and Arab nations complained that this wasn't enough. Washington should force Israel to pull out immediately, not in a week's time, the Arab leaders argued. So the Bush administration, in response to the pressure, earlier this week stepped up its drive to get Israel to pull back its troops faster.

But there is no reason why Israel should quickly remove its forces, especially after what we've seen in just the past two days. Fifteen Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinian militants in an ambush Tuesday on the West Bank and at least eight Israeli civilians were killed by a suicide bomber in Haifa today. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said the government's efforts are intended to uproot and dismantle what he calls the "infrastructure" that supports terrorism against Israel. To abruptly pull out now would leave the terrorists in place, allowing them to continue their deadly attacks against Israelis. It would be like asking the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan even though key members of the Taliban and al-Qaida are still in place.

The Bush administration is putting pressure on Israel because the U.S. government wants support from Arab nations if we decide to take military action against Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. But the administration shouldn't allow its policy on Israel to be held hostage by Arab regimes. Not only is Israel the only true democracy in the Middle East, but it also is a long-standing ally of the United States.

Last weekend the Arab League rejected Bush's request that Arab leaders condemn violence against Israel, and the Arab foreign ministers instead characterized the Palestinian uprising as "expected and necessary." It's time we hold the Arabs' feet to the fire and put pressure on Arafat to halt the terrorism. The United States should stop trying to placate dictatorships and monarchies in the Middle East -- nations that often encourage anti-American feelings to fester, including those that helped give rise to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.