Sent to the Editors of Haaretz

I am a non-Jewish Englishman, an analytical psychologist with some past experience of the quest for peace. I look with increasing dismay at the way the peace process has been almost totally overshadowed by recent events. Political short-sightedness and bad psychology are leading the region into a morass of even bloodier conflict than has been seen so far.

For you Israelis, peace means, above all, security, but for your Palestinian neighbors it means, primarily, justice. It seems to be overlooked that there can not be one without the other. Both are primarily in the hands of the Israeli government, but with current policies both are becoming ever remoter possibilities.

The present situation can not be maintained. For Israel, the ever-present threat of random bombing of innocent civilians is intolerable. Your government speaks of such events as the work of `terrorists', capitalizing on the events of September 11, and reacts to each with escalating (and often equally random) violence. With each reaction, the Palestinians' sense of injustice is increased - and perhaps 10 more potential `terrorist' are made.

The Palestinian people are desperate and impotent in the face of Israeli military might. Desperate people do desperate things. They are desperate after decades of occupation, routine harassment, appropriation of their land and water supplies, demolition of their homes, impediments to education and commerce, and much else. Yet all of [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon's policies seem aimed towards the subjugation of the Palestinian people, and the increasing colonization of their lands. These aims are readily achievable by military means as Israel has overwhelming military power. What use are rifles, explosives and stones against artillery, tanks, gunships, and that latest weapon of war, the home-demolishing bulldozer? Only foreign influence and domestic politics put the brakes on the process.

But what will be the outcome? Israel will discover the inadequacy of even the highest level of security. Some suicide bombers will still get through, and other much more dangerous modes of attack will arise. And the sheer scale of an inevitably antagonized Arab world will become painfully evident. The defenses around her borders and coast and in her skies will render Israel a vast prison camp with the Israelis inside under permanent threat. Few Israelis will dare to emerge, and few from overseas will risk visiting. The nature of Israel will change beyond recognition, as would the nature of you Israelis. I have always seen you as an attractive, generous, highly motivated, outgoing people, (if with a touch of arrogance!); that balance would not withstand the attainment of this outcome.

Sharon has the common failing of the military leader: He may be effective at winning battles, but he seems totally unable to see their consequences. He cannot win a war that is worth winning, as there would be no peace beyond it, and both the morale and the moral basis of the country would be degraded beyond recognition.

Common sense and humanity both demand the same action, in contrast with the current vengeful `two eyes for an eye' policy. It will require vision, courage and magnanimity of an order seldom seen in leaders. However, there is too much hatred and distrust for bilateral peace talks to succeed. A bold, constructive and publicly scheduled unilateral disengagement must be undertaken, with the progressive return of land until the legitimate 1967 boundaries are reached. The extremists on both sides will be confounded, and Israel will find security and true greatness as a nation.

Every crisis is a crisis of growth: A time of chaos and uncertainty as one chapter closes and another begins; a time of labor pains before a new birth; and a time of growth to a new level of maturity. I pray you may grasp the opportunity.

Dr John Newson
Cumbria, U.K