Holy Land?

THIS IS an interesting time for the Middle East.Also known as the Holy Land, it is intriguingly ironic that peace continues to evade this region that has played a historic role as the birthplace of three of the world’s five Great Religions. This weekend, two of the religions, Judaism and Christianity, mark important holidays against a backdrop of the worst violence to hit the region in years. As Christians went into Good Friday, that marks the death of Jesus Christ, and the Jews celebrated the Passover that commemorates their historical deliverance from bondage in Egypt, blood was being spilt at unimaginable levels.Only four weeks ago, the other religion, Islam, was marking Idd Aduha, the end of the month of pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, not far from the historical centres of Judaism and Christianity.Genuine effort was expected to be made at an Arab summit where a peace initiative with Israel was being discussed, but was promptly undermined by a Palestinian walkout, the stay away of some Arab leaders, an Israeli travel ban on Yasser Arafat and the suicide bombing that killed 20 Israelis. Saudi Arabia has proposed that Israel withdraws to its pre-1967 borders in return for Arab recognition and security guarantees, to co-exist with a sovereign Palestinian state.Bombings and political intrigue are not the answer, because they simply perpetuate the cycle of violence. There will be no shortcut to peace except harmonious talking, in a give-and-take structure like the Saudi initiative that is being discussed. That way there will be hope that contemporary Middle Easterners will live well with each other and in harmony with the principles that the three religions espouse.Ends