The violence between Israelis and Palestinians continues to escalate. Every day there are new reports of atrocities; the cycle of attack and retaliation is intensifying, the time between them shortening. The only reason for hope in this grim situation is the -- belated -- recognition by the government of U.S. President George W. Bush that it must get involved. Active engagement at the highest levels of government will be required, and patience too. Neither sits well with an administration that sees little hope for a breakthrough, but it is now obvious that ignoring the situation is no longer viable.
There have been more than a dozen suicide attacks by Palestinian militants since renewed fighting began last September. Yet the conflict took an ominous turn earlier this month when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the use of F-16 fighter planes to hit Palestinian targets in response to a suicide bombing attack in a shopping mall that claimed five lives. Those air raids killed 12 Palestinian policemen and wounded hundreds of others. The use of air power also reminded the world of the role the United States plays -- the planes are U.S.-made -- even when it does not take action.
Predictably, there were more suicide attacks. Last Friday, the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad took responsibility for two bombings that claimed the lives of the three bombers and injured 45 Israelis. Hours later, a car carrying members of the Fatah group, which is close to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, exploded, killing one and wounded six others. Palestinians blamed Israel for planting a bomb in the car; Israelis counter that the blast resulted from the premature detonation of a suicide bomb. Sunday, two more car bombs exploded in downtown Jerusalem, injuring 31. Last week's deaths brought the death toll to 569, the overwhelming majority of victims (478) Palestinian; 85 Israelis have been killed.