Editorial: Opportunity for peace

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 | 7:19 a.m.

President Bush on Monday renewed his call for a two-state solution to the bloody violence that has gone on for more than half a century between Israelis and Palestinians.

The situation is volatile, because the most extreme and violent of the Palestinian groups is now isolated in the Gaza Strip, while a more moderate government prevails in the larger West Bank.

In a murderous rampage last month that reinforced its worldwide image as a terrorist organization, Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, seized control of the Gaza Strip.

In elections last year, Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestine National Authority, the interim government for Palestinians headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party.

Although Fatah's history is replete with terrorist attacks against Israel, it has been accepted by the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union as far more moderate and compromising since the death of its longtime leader, Yasser Arafat, in November 2004.

Such a posture was reinforced last month, when Abbas threw Hamas out of the Palestine government after Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. This left Abbas and his government in control of the Palestinian areas of the West Bank.

In a speech Monday, Bush outlined a vision for good-faith peace talks among Israel, Palestine and other Arab and Western nations. He supported negotiations that could lead to statehood for Palestine, with binding and lasting agreements for peace with the state of Israel.

The talks would begin this fall and be headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Attending, Bush said, would be "representatives from nations that support a two-state solution, reject violence and recognize Israel's right to exist."

Because Abbas could be the leader who begins moving the Palestinian government toward more peaceful policies, Bush is right to try to get talks moving among leaders who genuinely believe in peace and who would guarantee Israel's security.