March 24, 2004

Jordan Times

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Editorial

Now that Israel has ignited the entire Middle East and beyond by its treacherous assassination of Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the international community must immediately take action. Israel has committed a folly with catastrophic consequences for itself, its neighbours and the rest of the world.

There are few options available to the UN Security Council to exercise some damage control. The call for international forces to be stationed in the occupied territories and provide some protection to the Palestinians should be strongly heeded. And perhaps legal action at the International Court of Justice might show the Israeli state that it is not above law.

The projected Arab summit may also have some meaningful ideas in this regard. So do the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.

All these regional and international actors should make a daring effort to salvage the situation and reset in motion the stalled peace process, not only between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but also between Syria and Israel.

The death of Sheikh Yassin may still be the trigger that awakens the entire international community from its dire neglect of the festering Middle Eastern conflicts.

There is no escape from convening an urgent international conference that aims to settle the main crises in the Middle East once and for all. Since leaving the resolution of these conflicts to the immediate parties has not come to fruition, despite repeated attempts and initiatives, it is high time for the international community to step in and outline the framework of this elusive solution. This way the death of Sheikh Yassin would not have been in vain.