There will always be Israelis who think all of Eretz Israel should be Jewish property. And there will always be Palestinians who want every Jew out of Palestine. Heck, there are groups still trying to get California back for the Mexicans.

The key is to find a way where life can go on despite this. There is, in fact, a certain minimum level of terrorism that can be "tolerated" (for lack of a better word) by society without going to war. Why did the attack on the WTC rate a military response while the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building did not? Because the former was the result of a formal political policy by an organized political entity (however decentralized) with the support of a standing national government.

The latter, despite whatever conspiracy theories you may hear, was a lunatic acting more or less on his own. He was part of a distinct political minority, and one that for the most part does not use major violence as a normal operating procedure.

If the Palestinian radicals can be reduced and marginalized to the point where they fall into this "lone gunman" category, then suicide bombings could be treated as crimes, not political actions. Right now, Arafat and the official Palestinian government support the attacks, so Israel is treating them like an enemy nation, not like a gang of criminals.

Had Arafat actually done what he was supposed to after the Oslo Accords, that is, act like a real government and arrest and suppress the terrorist factions, then we might be looking at a different situation. Obviously a change of Palestinian government is required here.

To be fair, Israel has to do more to suppress its radicals as well, although I still don't place building a village in someone else's valuable chunk of Godforsaken desert in the same moral category as blowing up a bunch of people in a marketplace. It's worth noting that in times of nonviolence, Israel tends to elect moderate and liberal leaders. In times of attack, they get Sharon, which helps prove my point that peace is the last thing Arafat wants.

When the radicals from both sides are confined to street corner soap boxes, web sites, and the occasional crime of violence--quickly dealt with--then life in the Mideast can return to normal. I ain't holding my breath.