Formal Cease Fire Between Israelis And Palestinians example essay topic

JERUSALEM -- As Secretary of State Colin L. Powell prepared to head home today without a formal cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians, he said five days of talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat brought some progress. Powell's ambitious effort to halt the bloody conflict between Israelis and Palestinians was scheduled to conclude today with a final meeting with Arafat. But few analysts expected a hard promise by Arafat to rein in armed militants and suicide bombers or a firm pledge from Israel to withdraw its troops quickly from recently occupied areas of the West Bank. As Powell pressed for progress toward a cease-fire, fast-moving Israeli armored columns swooped into several cities and villages on the West Bank in what appeared to be short-term operations Tuesday. In Tulkarem, troops arrested four Palestinians whom they accused of plotting a suicide bomb attack targeting today's Israel Independence Day celebrations. Officials offered no details.

Tanks also rolled into three Palestinian suburbs of Jerusalem, with troops declaring a curfew and forcing thousands of residents to remain in their homes while searches were conducted for militants and suspected terrorists. The military confirmed the action, describing it as part of a high security alert surrounding the celebration of the Jewish state's 54th year. Palestinians called the latest raids a sign of arrogance. 'These incursions are taking place even as Secretary Powell is in the country seeking solutions,' said Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian Parliament. 'There must be an end to these incursions and a complete withdrawal from Palestinian villages and cities before there can be discussions of peace. ' The Israeli military, meanwhile, called its massive military campaign in the West Bank a success despite international condemnation of its aggressive charge into Palestinian-ruled territories, which has devastated several cities as well as the Jenin refugee camp.

'The terrorist infrastructure has been dealt a severe blow,' said Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeev i, director of military intelligence, describing Monday's capture of Arafat lieutenant Marwan Barghouti in the West Bank city of Ramallah as a major coup. 'They can still make terror. But we have hit them hard. And the longer we have, the more we can hit them. ' Powell, who met with Sharon for the third time Tuesday night, was scheduled to make another passage to the besieged headquarters of Arafat in Ramallah today in one last bid to persuade the Palestinian leader to call for a suspension of the bloody 18-month uprising. 'We are making progress, and I look forward to furthering that progress over the next 24 hours,' Powell said in Jerusalem.

'But I don't want to get into specifics as to what I'll be able to achieve and not be able to achieve. ' A senior State Department official traveling with Powell said that although the talks have not broken down, they have fallen far short of the high hopes that rode with the secretary of state when he left Washington nine days ago. He arrived in Israel on Thursday and began his shuttle mission between Sharon and Arafat a day later. Israel has refused to set a precise timetable for the end of its military incursion into the West Bank, although Sharon has said the campaign will start to wind down this week. Arafat has refused to call for a cease-fire, saying Israel first has to agree to begin serious negotiations on creation of an independent Palestinian homeland in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And a dangerous standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is no closer to resolution, with 200 armed Palestinian militants occupying the ancient basilica believed by Christians to occupy the site where Jesus was born.

Also Tuesday, army officials confirmed the reopening of the Ketziot detention camp in the desert of southern Israeli to hold some of the 4,250 Palestinians rounded up in its 19-day offensive. More than 300 prisoners have been moved to the tent camp, according to the Israeli human rights group B'tselem.