There is no doubt that Israel can be struck helpless and impotent by a small cadre of dedicated men and women with a single-minded passion - the suicide bombers. To die in such a way is seen as an honour bestowed on only a few fortunate men and women - they are an elite group - whose heads are filled with false theories. They no longer heed reason nor justice, but only the power of their own beliefs. It’s hard, almost impossible, for us to understand. They are convinced that this is the only way forward. They kill because they hate. Those involved are beyond reason or for that matter, rationality. It is, and always will be a horrifying reality, which can happen at any time for Israel.

The Israelis believe the only way to handle it is to destroy every terrorist stronghold known and suspected. Such action is bound to breed further violence and the prospect is for more terror and further counter terror. Too many have become disciplined to pain, indifferent to bloodshed and prepared to die. The Israelis provoke the very thing they wish to avoid. Such action does not put an end to the threat, it won’t stop those involved - they are capable of continued violence. The Israelis are in an untenable position: if they catch or kill those responsible others re-emerge.

I recall the story of the Prophet who defeated superior enemies because he had Allah's support. If I recall correctly, I believe he said "There can be no happiness but that preceded by misery, no peace but that preceded by war". Such words, if anything, explain the ongoing crisis. Religious fanaticism is chillingly evident in the ongoing suicide bombings. They will not end and it is my continued belief that events will continue to spiral out of control and take an even more violent turn.

I do agree with what you’ve written – I know how overwhelming the effect will be if it occurs and there’s nothing that can be done politically to prevent it. I need not amplify my feelings on the matter – except to stress my dismay. Personally, I doubt if we’ll see an attitude change in the short-term. It goes deeper than what you have written. What the Israelis are doing is delaying the inevitable. The whole future of the Middle East is in jeopardy and the Israelis have to make their decision soon. I believe they have ceased to look at the world as independent observers. They have, in a sense, become obsessed with themselves. It has to do with blood and roots, and elemental loyalty. The Israelis are a people who have been under siege, scorned, rejected and hemmed in with hate for generations. Hatred is like a noose, it can hang your enemy but in the end it will strangle you also. It may be necessary to show the Israelis how deep a pit persecution and prejudice can lead. They need reminding of something they’d rather forget – their conscience. If they lose the power of forgiveness they will lose the beat of their hearts. If they cannot find the spirit of forgiveness then what I have seen will come about. The soil will not prosper but turn to dust. There is no wall, no table, and no people. Only desolation.

Will they sink into the grey, endless twilight as I’ve seen? Will they go down fighting, hurling missiles that will reshape the Middle East anew; will it give them a new morning to walk into, fearless and happy, a new world before them? What death such conflict would cause! The Middle East shattered, people and trees twisted alike for years to come. A great threat hangs over the region. I know what I’ve seen; the pictures will be seared in my memory until the final moment of my life. It is the threat of destruction on a terrible, unprecedented scale of which few will survive. There is still hope but it grows less each day and only knowing the full extent of the threat they face will it be defeated. Although there is a chance that the destruction I fear may never take place the very fact that the threat is there may be enough to doom them. They have to prevent not only the execution of the threat, but also the possibility of it ever happening.

What can we do? I’ve asked this question over and over again. It seems logical to believe that the threat is real because of what has already eventuated. Yet, I find it hard to believe that such a weapon will come out of the Middle East and that it can produce the annihilation I’ve seen. I look through the eye of time. All I know is that the answer lays within the Israelis themselves. It is they who create the threat; it is they who can stop its execution. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see but I believe there is still hope. The future doesn’t have to belong to the path I’ve seen. That’s what I keep telling myself but it doesn’t help much.

I ask myself why so much death? Why does it have to be like this? Why does hatred compel not only Palestinian, but Jew to keep on killing? Is it because they have grown up hating each other? Is it because they don't need reasons and because hatred is bred into them? Is this why it is natural for them to grow up hating and killing? Blind hatred and irrational feelings is bred into fanatics and there is no doubt that the Islamic Jihad has built on its strengths, the hatred of many things and the zeal and fanaticism of its members, mixed with realism. Such hatred is fed remorselessly and constantly devours any semblance of good will and reason. Killing becomes a means to an end. They are not concerned about the morality of it. Desperation and zealousness breeds fanaticism, the most deadly of all movements. Their religion consumes them as does their devotion to the Koran, which is absolute. Fervour and beliefs create their own reality and all too often they only see the righteousness of their own point of view. The bombing in retrospect was inevitable. As inevitable as it is wasteful of human lives, resources and man's capacity to reason and emphasise with his neighbour. The respect for human life and the spirit of democracy is wiped out by anyone who uses terror tactics, they inflict their world on the innocent.

The Israelis are dealing with hate and age old frustrations which are exploding with avengence. Too many have become brutalised by familiarity with violence and killing. Broken families, vicious terror, wasted lives, early death - what does it achieve and where does it lead? Hamas and Islamic Jihad exhort the Palestinian people into rebellion. What are they, but political extremists who live on an adrenaline high, who plan and run armed terror, whose currency is violent death and bereavement. This will not end, it will never end if things go on as they are. There will be no winners or losers. Only death and more death.

They continue to plan acts of outrageous and cruel carnage which are and will be calculated to seize the headlines and dominate the media, to advocate and advance their cause and to keep it in the public consciousness. They believe the sheer scale of the carnage will so outrage and horrify the Israeli public that the Israeli government will be forced to negotiate a withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza. They imagine that more terror will achieve some kind of result. (Their aim is to rock the Israeli government. They have enough supporters to continue the slaughter of Israelis it's a dangerous, potentially disastrous scheme - they do not look beyond the immediacy of the situation.)

The peace process is bleeding from the edges. Peace is only supportable if it is real and happens as a natural event and not because it is being enforced by the stronger Nation. The blame cuts both ways, both Palestinian and Israeli is guilty. The fanatics in Israel make others suffer for their outworn beliefs as do the fundamentalists in Palestine. The Israelis, tired as they are of conflict, cannot shrink from the difficulties that lay ahead, nor abandon the peace process that has commenced if they are to survive. It will not be easy for old enemies and the past will always be with them. Peace won't come soon enough to save many from the grief which will engulf both Jew and Arab alike. In spite of the pains to be endured, which will continue to destroy so much hope and promise for so many, life will still be lived.

No, I don't believe the Israelis are precipitating the crisis. What I was trying to point out was that there are people who use their influence to apply political pressure on the Israeli Government to take a course of action that is both ill-advised and could result in disaster. I don't disagree with your comments, the Israelis will continue to take extreme measures against those who threaten their territory. They believe only action can protect the citizens of Israel. The Israelis fight terrorism on a daily basis. They kill and have been killed. Activity flares, dies and flares again. These are not skirmishes to the Israelis, they are battles in an on-going war. The Israelis also know that they cannot, politically, afford to do nothing while Israelis are being killed and their borders violated with impunity. If Arafat is unable to control what is happening along his own borders then Israel will have no choice but to take action to control matters. The fact is Arafat cannot control the borders and prevent further raids from taking place and this should not be ignored.

I agree with your comment that there are those who want the Israelis to be uptight and they are trying to get them to react and shoot back. The question is, just how far are they going to take it? Yes, there will be more incidents and casualties and your conclusions are frightening enough. Intelligence estimates indicate that forces opposed to the peace process are attempting to further precipitate a crisis.

I guess you take the practical approach. What is important as you say is to prevent Arafat taking extreme measures for solving the problem. To succeed he needs time to establish his Council's authority, reorganise state and political apparatus and equally important to get the economy moving. There are those who oppose throwing money at the Palestinians. Some want the peace process to collapse altogether. Closing the border cripples his efforts. Instead of controlling the situation and providing a solution which allows for some flexibility Arafat finds himself reacting to events. Politically, Arafat cannot afford inaction.

Regarding your comments on Israel and Palestine, both the Palestinian and Israelis, in truth, are ill-equipped by their past for either love or peace. They have been fighting so long, so furiously that they don't know how to be peaceful. In such ceaseless bloodletting, Israelis are often targets of simple opportunity. It is always a constant threat, a constant possibility. The Israelis are permanently in a state of war. They will learn slowly and painfully and they are quite capable of killing each other in the process. They have become entangled in the past. and their lives are twisted together like a skein of a rope. They have no other choice open to them but to move forward. Everyone wants peace, the terrorists by victory, the clergy by power, the politicians by subtle compromises and people like me, by wisdom, love and compromise. Unfortunately, the last three points are rarely considered by some of those involved.

The Israelis are terribly xenophobic. It would seem that the Israelis have woken to the mood on the streets and the dangers of Palestinian autonomy. Any man will listen to reason for a while, but when the passions rise, reason is quickly forgotten. There are wrongs done on both sides. Militant Jews create a tension in the country accusing the Israeli Government of giving away their birthright, their land and that the land belongs to them and not to the Arabs nor the Christians. They continue to focus attention on the morality of their cause as they attempt to force the Israeli Government into a more militant position. Israel's stance remains a threat to peace. Land grabs have undercut the peace process and the West Bank and Gaza continues to seethe with hostility until the inevitable explosion occurs. Enmity grows and remains a festering cancer. It will escalate things beyond belief. It will be the spark that ignites the powder keg. Killing and more killing. Will they get too exhausted to kill each other any more? Can they reach peace?

The Islamic Jihad do not believe it is murder to fight for what has been stolen from them. I hate the violence. I think such people are madmen. Certainly there is injustice, but it can never be changed by action such as the recent bombing. They go beyond morals, pity and all reason. It is most stark and tragic, but how do we change it? I have an overwhelming sense of the reality and fragility of the peace process. Somehow I am caught within its vortex, looking in and knowing. Seeing so much, watching and the knowledge pains me. It goes beyond concept and intellect, beyond what analysis knows or imagines. I see beyond the phenomenal and contingent world to the eternal and non-contingent. Peace will only emerge after so much death.

The land is only one of the sacrifices that will be asked of the Jews. And each sacrifice to come, each pain, each trouble overcome will make them stronger. Until they move forward in their acceptance, discord will remain. The extent of human stupidity remains infinite! I guess, if anything, we have to fear ourselves if we have any wisdom because we tell ourselves the most plausible lies, lies we want to believe. The Israelis need to walk two steps behind themselves and watch everything they do. Perhaps then they would understand the true meaning of humility!