Israel has begun its unilateral withdrawal of troops and evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. This is the first time that settlements have been dismantled from land that Israel occupied in the third Middle East War (1967). There have been reports of small-scale clashes between settlers and security forces, a fatal shooting of a Palestinian by a settler, and a rocket attack in the south. But no major, bloody incident has been reported. The pullout is expected to be completed by the middle of next week.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced a ceasefire at their summit meeting in February, sporadic clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian extremists have kept the official ceasefire in constant danger of collapse. The only way to open the road to peace lies in the two sides building mutual confidence. The decision of the Palestinian side to engage to some extent in joint operations -- for example by deploying security forces -- with the Israeli army so that the withdrawal proceeds smoothly is a move in the right direction.

The biggest hurdle in promoting the "road map," which calls for the coexistence of the two states of Israel and Palestine, is the settlement problem. Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is not based on an agreement with Palestine, but is a unilateral move to promote the separation of the two states. The pullout, therefore, may certainly be a step forward in the peace process, but it does not readily get that process on track.