In search of goodwill

Amid the flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at propelling the momentum for peace in the Middle East forward pressure is mounting on the Israelis to take the process more seriously.

Peace might be a win-win formula but it requires a give and take approach. This latter is an anathema to those in Israel who insist on operating on the principle that the winner takes all.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is scheduled to visit the region tomorrow and Arab hopes are pinned on his pressuring a so far intransigent Israeli government. Only Washington can ensure that the Israelis accept the roadmap unconditionally. And such acceptance is the only way that peace can be given a chance.

Arab countries are working hard to lay the foundations for lasting peace in the region. Egyptian mediators held "friendly and constructive" talks with Palestinian resistance leaders in Gaza while the deputy- chief of Egyptian Intelligence, Colonel Mustafa El- Beheiri, met with the leaders of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, PFLP and other factions. They agreed to study El-Beheiri's proposals and report back to him within a week.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is obviously bent on rubbishing the roadmap. In sharp contrast, the Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantisi, who narrowly escaped an Israeli assassination attempt last week, has made important concessions. Hamas has shown that its organisation is intact and that it is capable of reigning in its militants if it wants to. But Hamas first wants to see concrete evidence of Israeli goodwill.