The Middle East peace process returned to impasse yesterday as President George Bush and the Israeli prime minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, insisted the Palestinian leadership must take effective and sustained action against terrorist movements if progress is to be made.
The Palestinian prime minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, told Mr Bush last week that he would not be able to do that without a civil war. He urged Mr Bush to put pressure on Israel for concessions on settlements, prisoner releases and on the security fence being built on the West Bank in order to convince Hamas and other organisations involved in violent resistance against Israeli occupation that the current ceasefire should be extended.
Mr Bush surprised the Israeli government and many onlookers last week when he gave an enthusiastic reception to Mr Abbas. He praised his "vision, courage and determination", said the Israeli-built "wall snaking through the West Bank is a problem" and spoke of the need for Israel "to end settlements" if the negotiations are to make progress. He also spoke repeatedly of the need to "root out" terrorism in Palestinian society. These comments went substantially beyond the expectations Mr Sharon and his advisers brought to the renewed road map towards peace drawn up with the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.
On the evidence of yesterday's encounter Mr Sharon has succeeded in restoring ground he appeared to lose with Mr Bush. The Israeli leader said the fence will continue to be built in the interests of security, while Mr Bush held out the hope that it would be unnecessary if peace is achieved. There was apparently complete agreement between the two men that, in Mr Bush's words, "there will be no peace if terrorism flourishes". Mr Sharon went on to say that unless there is "a complete cessation of terrorism, incitement and violence" Israel will make no further concessions on withdrawing troops, releasing prisoners, easing travel restrictions and extending permits to Palestinian workers.
Peace will be impossible to achieve on such a basis. Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation is at the heart of the violence. Mr Abbas's proposals are a sensible way to overcome the tension between this central fact and the effort to make political progress. They depend on real gestures of goodwill from the Israeli side, which would recognise the huge imbalance between the two sides and the need for Mr Abbas to build trust for his strategy. Mr Sharon's conditions amount to a veto on his approach. If Mr Bush and the other sponsors of the road map do not recognise that, this peace process will be doomed.