The Oslo and Washington accords and subsequent agreements will mean little, if extremists are allowed to reign and revenge begets revenge. Intelligence gathering units of both the IDF and the Palestinian Authority are reportedly concentrating on possible assassination threats against Prime Minister Peres and Chairman Arafat. The beleaguered nation of Israel holds its collective breath as palpable fear and anger spreads through the streets. A nation under siege and assaulted by hostile forces since its very inception, Israel finds itself at a crossroads in its hope for peace. Israeli mothers say that they are afraid to let their children go out and play or ride a bus to a relative's house.
Bus stops, highways, schools, and synagogues are under constant threat of possible terrorist attack.
So many years of danger, and seemingly so close to a lasting peace, large numbers of both Muslims and Jews deeply hope and pray for an answer to what appears today to be an almost insoluble problem.