THE MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian Suicide.(response by Israel to suicide bombings by Palestinians)(Brief Article)

The recent spate of suicide bombings has done much damage to Israel, killing about 100 people, many of them young. Inhuman in itself, the enterprise is so demoralizing because it is so totally futile. Nothing can come of it except bitterness and the urge for revenge. The so- called peace process is well and truly over for the time being. Quite as ugly, and just as expected, is the growing criticism of Israel for taking the steps necessary to its self-defense.

Faced with these sustained murderous attacks, the Israelis could choose what may be called the Russian option: sending in the army, reoccupying territory, and installing some other regime than Arafat's. Japanese kamikaze pilots in the last war were prototype suicide bombers, and the United States discovered that total victory was the only way to overcome them. So far, Israel has instead adopted the far more moderate course of identifying the recruiters and organizers who send in the deluded young volunteers. This involves intelligence work, including the collaboration of Palestinians who are risking their own lives. Israel then asks Arafat to have identified terrorists arrested. His response is that he is in no position for such action. So the Israelis strike selectively, and so far have eliminated about a score of master- terrorists. Under the appearance of rough justice, the Israelis are taking a few lives in order to save many lives. It is a reasoned calculation of profit and loss. The outrage of Israel's critics- including, apparently, Colin Powell and the Bush administration-boils down to the proposition that Israelis are there to be killed, and have no right to be doing anything to prevent it.

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