But it can open an opportunity for peace negotiations if the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, is wise and bold enough to seize it. The Spanish daily El Mundo also sees opportunity as well as challenge in the Israeli political mist. The future of peace in the Middle East will depend on this crucial election, the most important in the country's history. The Israelis will have to say if they prefer the negotiation path or confrontation with the Palestinians. The outlook is not optimistic.
Palestinian militias are in the middle of a guerrilla and terrorist offensive.
Writing from Egypt, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung's Heiko Flottau says that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is committed to working for Mideast peace and also to securing his place as Egypt's strong man. In the current, newly unstable Israeli-Palestinian situation, Flottau says, the two aims are mutually supportive. Hosni Mubarak is incensed over the manner in which Ehud Barak, his 'partner in peace,' is proceeding against the Palestinians. Once captured by the Soviets, Wallenberg was accused of being a spy for the United States and of being a Nazi agent. The details of his case have been secret for too long.