Paradoxically, both articles gave the reasons why such talks are doomed to failure: Abbas cannot deliver the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas. The impression of the futility of such talks is reinforced by an editorial by David Horvitz, editor of Post, which details incitement to terror in the Hamas produced "Tomorrow's Pioneers" kiddie show that feature suicide bombing mice and bees.

The peace process cannot be abandoned, however. Israel and the Palestinians need peace, the Middle East needs peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the Americans need it, and both President Abbas and PM Olmert need to show some accomplishment to strengthen their governments against the assaults of extremists. If there is really "no peace partner" then each side has to bend every effort to make the other side into a peace partner.

What is needed at first is not peace talks, but real peace actions. The West Bank has to be turned into a reasonable facsimile of what a Palestinian state could be and ought to be. The aid that U.S. President Bush announced in his recent speech was a mirage, since almost all the funds were already budgeted. The 255 prisoners that Israel released were a good start, and the integration of Fatah al-Aqsa into the Palestinian security forces was also a positive step, but these are a drop in the bucket. Until now, most of the "peace process" has been characterized by the desire of each side to get something for nothing. Both Olmert and Abbas have to understand that they will not get very much without giving as well. They must both work at first not to achieve paradise in the West Bank, but at least to undo the damages of seven years of Palestinian violence and Israeli reprisals. The Palestinian Authority must finally disarm all of the terror groups as it has promised to do so often, and build a real central security force. As this is accomplished, Israel must begin to remove checkpoints and withdraw from areas that were reoccupied after 2000. It doesn't have to be "for keeps." It can be conditional on keeping the peace, to minimize the risk, but if it is not done now, it will never happen. Palestinian control of terrorists groups like Islamic Jihad is an essential condition for removal of the checkpoints. As long as terrorists hired by Iran are on the loose, there can be no chance for peace. Relaxation of checkpoints while these people are still armed is bound to uncork a wave of terror designed to foil any attempts at reconciliation.

This process must be accompanied by massive investment in infrastructure that will give the Palestinian economy a boost and provided much-needed basic services. If it turns out that the money cannot be managed by Abbas's government, and Tony Blair and Salam Fayyad are unable to put Palestinian institutions on a sound footing, then the projects should be managed by the donors. The Palestinians need roads, hospitals, schools, housing water supply, sewage and industries. The refugee camps represent one of the biggest obstacles to peace. New housing and new towns should be built to house the refugees.

The Israeli government, for its part, must finally and really remove all of the illegal outposts, and begin at least to scale down settlement activity. While the government has introduced draconic across the board budget cuts, and continues to reduce vital defense and education spending, subsidies to the settlements continue unabated. In case you were "worried," an aide to PM Olmert quickly denied rumors that the government would be cutting settlement subsidies.

The above modest goals are not utopian. If they are achieved, the stage will be set for diplomatic and political action. The political action would have to be freely elections in Gaza and the West Bank. If the Fatah/PLO can rehabilitate itself and prove that it can run Palestinian society responsibly in the West Bank, it has a good chance of winning back its place as leaders of the Palestinian people in elections. This approach will prove to both the Palestinian and the Israeli public that the other side is ready for peace and that there is a peace partner. It is hard to imagine, however, that Hamas will give up control without a fight, and the PLO/Fatah must be prepared for that fight.

The diplomatic action should be undertaken in stages and it must be a public process, with each step receiving approval in successive referenda. In that way, both sides will know what they are getting into, and the leadership will know that they have a mandate to carry out the specific terms of each agreement. The first step must be a set of principles that declare mutual recognition in terms that are much less ambiguous than those of the Oslo accords. When these are approved by a referendum and the operative portions put into effect, it will be time to negotiate and vote on a map and a detailed agreement.

Ami Isseroff