Editorial: There are no shades of gray in terrorism

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 | 8:58 a.m.

Yet another terrorist attack has occurred in Israel. On Tuesday Palestinians ambushed a bus that was headed for a Jewish settlement. As the bus passengers tried to flee for safety, Palestinian gunmen used automatic weapons to fire on them. Eight people were killed and more than 20 were wounded. The attack occurred just hours before Secretary of State Colin Powell met in New York with leaders from Arab states, the European Union and the United Nations to talk about steps to end the violence in the Middle East.

It is evident that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has neither the desire nor the authority to stop terrorism. The United States has found it pointless to negotiate with Arafat, and other nations involved in the peace process need to adopt this policy. It is frustrating that while the U.S. understands that these Palestinian attacks are terrorism, much of the rest of the world, including Europe, often doesn't see it this way, making excuses for Arafat even when women and children are deliberately targeted for murder. Israel has shown remarkable restraint so far. The question now is how much longer the Middle East's only democracy will hold its response to limited military incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas.