Sharon and Abbas Declare Cease-Fire at Summit

Yahoo! News - Sharon, Abbas Declare Cease-Fire at Summit

Do I dare hope? Do we all dare dream? Someone is actually working towards Peace in the Holy Land? Could it be true or is it all just another round of the same old same old?

"What we agreed upon today is simply the beginning of the process of bridging the gap," Abbas is quoted as saying.

Well, that's nothing new. Everytime the Palestinians and Israel get together for their "Peace Talks" they speak of "starting the long road ahead" or "Following the Road Map", but it all just never seems to go anywhere. No one ever takes real action and the unofficial acts of a small band of outlaws always plunge everyone back into the daily horrors that have become so common place in Israel and Palestine.

Israel will not give up on it's counterproductive counter strikes and the Palestinians seem either unwilling or unable to curb the criminal and radical elements that usually cause the violence. The same can be said of Israel and it's own illegal homesteaders who all seem intent on violence as well.

The area is tense and emotions run high. The history is long and complex and the current generations on both sides have much to be angry about. Compromise is difficult for everyone and it will be a long road to peace with many people's pride and egos taken out along the way.

But will this be the time they actually start the engines and at least coast to the starting line?

Perhaps. There seems to be some new developments we have not seen before.

• 500 Palestinian prisoners will be released by Israel with 400 more to follow at a later date.
  
  This is a big one. Israel believes these people are dangerous and they do have some history to back up their claim that if they let these people out they will just attack again.
  
  
• Israel will complete the handover of five West Bank towns in less than three weeks. Officials are to meet as early as Wednesday to arrange for the handover of Jericho.
  

This is all good news and shows that Israel may be serious about peace.

But we also have the same old stuff from the same old people. The AP reports:

"Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, said Israel did not fulfill Palestinian demands to release prisoners and halt aggression. Therefore, he said, the truce is not binding on Hamas."

500 prisoners and 5 towns are not enough, so once again Hamas will not budge on their terms. But some others are and in places you might not expect.

Egypt and Jordan have announced they will be sending their ambassadors back to Israel after a four year absence. This could happen in just a few days. Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom also encouraged other Arab states to restore contacts. He is quoted as saying " This could lead to a breakthrough with many other Arab countries, which could send ambassadors here" on Channel Two TV. Let us hope so.

And perhaps the most amazing thing, as simple as it seems, is the fact that Sharon has invited Abbas to visit him at his ranch in Israel and Abbas has agreed to go. I don't think we would have seen that kind of chumminess if Arafat were still in charge. Sharon must be taking diplomacy lessons from President Bush: "10 surefire ways to woo your friends and enemies with a Ranch Cookout".

Perhaps it does take a new face and a weekend at a ranch to get people to break out of their old ways of thinking and start a fresh new future. Perhaps this time both sides are serious about Peace and willing to make the necessary changes and concessions.

Both sides can not tolerate violence of any kind, from anyone, so we can put the past behind us and work towards the future together, as people, and forget all the hatred we have learned over the centuries and the anger from the last few years. Just stop the violence. It can be easy if everyone tries.

Let's pray this is so. It would be nice to see some Peace in the world, especially in such a troubled place that most have already given up on.

Peace.

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