Open War

Ariel Sharon has declared Yasr Arafat an enemy of the State of Israel. The Gaza Strip has been cordoned into thirds, and Ramallah is under siege. Arafat is still alive, but says he'll die before being taken prisoner. 20,000 Israeli reservists have been called up, and Sharon is warning that the operation could take a while. Apparently Sharon thinks he's going to kill or capture every single terrorist. A year ago that might have been accomplished by rounding up all males over 10 years old. Now? Females too. Today a teenage girl blew herself into eternity in a Jewish supermarket.

I have no idea what will happen. Certainly a short-term escalation; no doubt about that. However, in the long term my imagination fails me. It could be the same way the last 18 months have been; Palestine could become an effective police state, with the Palestinians so beaten that they dare not fight back. It could lead to a collapse of the Israeli government and another attempt at peace. It could lead to foreign action: already 600 pro-Palestinian foreigners, including the French farmers' union leader, José Bové, arrived in Ramallah to offer themselves as human shields for Palestinians. "We are going to stay here in Ramallah in particular to provide the Palestinians with protection," Mr. Bové said (NYTimes). It could lead to open war between Israel and her neighbors. I honestly don't know, but it's not a joyful anticipation.

A while ago, a nonviolent Jewish rebel made no attempt to prevent His own arrest. He was executed by an unpopular occupying regime in cooperation with the local elites and a bribed mob. He slowly died, between two criminals. His death and resurrection have brought eternal hope to people of all races ever since.
On the same day 2,000 years later, a violent Arab rebel blew herself up in resistance to an unpopular occupying regime. She died suddenly, between two innocent shoppers. All her death has brought is despair and pain.