Palestinians And Israelis

WASHINGTON --In Arabic, the word Hamas means "zeal" or "fervor." In Hebrew, the word means "destruction" and "violence." This semantic discrepancy reflects how differently Palestinians and Israelis feel toward the militant Islamic group Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in shootings and suicide bombings since its founding in 1987 and which is now in the driver's seat of Palestinian politics. To many Palestinians, the appeal of Hamas comes not only from the pious, "uncorrupted" way of life it promotes or the charitable work it performs, but also from its hard-nosed approach toward both Israel and the unpopular leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA)

JERUSALEM -- After months of fruitless negotiations, Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached a landmark agreement yesterday that promises to vastly improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians, opening the Gaza Strip to the outside world and allowing for freer movement of goods and people in and out of the Palestinian territories. The accord marks a significant breakthrough between the two parties, which have been at odds over Gaza's future since Israel's withdrawal of its forces and settlements two months ago. Worried about an influx of arms and militants, Israel had been reluctant to surrender its control over the comings and goings of the territory's 1.3 million people and the products they buy and sell.

NETANYA, Israel - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday on a busy crosswalk near a shopping mall in this seaside city, killing himself and three others and shattering a period of relative calm the country has enjoyed since a truce five months ago. But Israeli officials sounded determined not to let the bombing disrupt next month's evacuation of 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank, a plan - known as disengagement -...

DEIR EL-BALAH, Gaza Strip - Like many Palestinians, Khalil Bashir remains puzzled about what Israel's planned withdrawal of settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip will mean for the chances for peace. But Bashir is certain of one thing: Israel's withdrawal will allow him to walk up to the second and third floors of his house and perhaps get his best night's sleep in nearly five years. Since November 2000, Israeli soldiers have lived on the upper floors of his three-story home, confining Bashir, his wife, Suad, and his eight children to the rooms below.

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met yesterday but failed to build on the hopes raised four months ago by their pledge to end more than four years of bloodshed. In a summit overshadowed by a recent rash of violence, the Israeli and Palestinian leaders ended their two-hour meeting at Sharon's official residence reminded of how far apart they remain on fundamental issues, including security, travel restrictions and the fate of Palestinian prisoners.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Conveying a growing sense of urgency, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Palestinians and Israelis yesterday to intensify contacts and resolve issues vital to an orderly Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. "There is no more time to simply put problems on the agenda," she told a news conference after talks with Palestinian leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. "This now has to be an active process of resolving these problems."

LONDON - Members of one of Britain's largest associations of university teachers and staff thought they had grasped victory when they passed two resolutions that, at least symbolically, erected signs at the country's universities saying this: No Israelis Allowed. The resolutions, approved last month by the Association of University Teachers, demonstrated how volatile an issue the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains in Britain's academic community - and how determined some members are to pressure Israel's government to make concessions to the Palestinians.

SHOULD WE BE hopeful that there is a new opening for peace between Palestinians and Israelis? Past Israeli-Palestinian summits (and truces) have led downhill, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has yet to prove he can control Islamist groups such as Hamas. Yet there is a sliver of hope for peace under certain conditions. Prime among them is whether President Bush wants to make progress toward Mideast peace part of his legacy. If he is serious about advancing his "vision" of two states side by side, there might be real movement before his term ends.

QALQILIYA, West Bank - The signs and billboards in this Palestinian city still beckon in Hebrew, relics of better times, when Israelis crowded the streets searching for cheap car repairs and cheap furniture. For a time, the word coexistence was not a theoretical concept debated by Palestinians and Israelis but reality. It existed, right here. Merchants whose businesses have survived the past four years of violence talk glumly about lost income and lost jobs. If, as expected, Mahmoud Abbas wins election today as president of the Palestinian Authority, he will face the challenges of ending a conflict that has global importance and solving problems that are profoundly parochial.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank - In this Christmas season of hopes and fears, the little town of Bethlehem finds itself suspended somewhere between the two. With lamplight glowing softly on ancient stones and incense's musty fragrance penetrating the damp winter chill, Palestinian Christians, foreign dignitaries and a smattering of tourists celebrated midnight Mass last night in the basilica built on the spot where tradition says Jesus was born. The holiday - marked by its usual disorienting Holy Land melange of army roadblocks and candlelight carols, twinkling lights and olive-drab armored vehicles - has seen some tentative cause for optimism this year: the easing of day-to-day violent conflict with Israel, coupled with greater Palestinian aspirations to democracy in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death.