Community reflects on peace

Boston University students and faculty reacted to a cease-fire agreement signed Tuesday by the newly-elected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to end violence between the two countries.

According to international relations professor Husain Haqqani, "the cease-fire is a positive development provided it can be sustained."

"There are many reasons for one to expect better results," he said. "But one must still wait for events to unfold. Things can go wrong with anything."

Haqqani said he recently traveled abroad to watch the new elections in Palestine.

"Mahmoud Abbas has respect for the Israelis and the support of the Americans, which the past leader, Yasser Arafat, did not have," he said. "Because Abbas was elected recently, he seems to have a mandate which gives him a stature. His own hands were not dirtied by charges of terrorism and thus he is better for negotiation."

International Relations professor William Keylor said the cease-fire is a positive development that will open dialogue between the two countries.

"It is welcome news to the many Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones in this terrible conflict," he said. "Cynics will say that we have seen this all before, especially toward the end of Bill Clinton's second term, when Barak and Arafat came so close to reaching agreement. But Abbas, unlike Arafat, seems ready to crack down on the terrorists within the Palestinian movement, while Sharon, the man who actively supported the Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank for so many years, seems ready to dismantle them in Gaza."

After 57 years of conflict, some question whether peace is possible. According to Haqqani, Israelis seek security for their state, while Palestinians want to preserve their dignity.

"Even though the cease-fire opens opportunities, there is so much that can go wrong so we should all keep our fingers crossed and wish for the best," he said.

Although the situation is set on the global stage, Haqqani said the development also affects BU, even if it is on a smaller scale.

"Nobody can live in isolation anymore," he said. "Relations between Muslims and Jews, terrorism and crisis are all interlinked."

Haqqani said he encouraged Israeli and Arab students to take a stance on the issue.

"Having an ideological position is not worth it," he said. "People should not be pro-Palestine or pro-Israel. We need to look at things more objectively. We have to be willing to listen to other side."

Likewise, Keylor said students "ought to support the peace process, and hope that both sides prove willing to agree to enough compromises to bring this long and bloody struggle to an end."

Students have mixed opinions of strained relations on the cease-fire happening.

College of Communication freshman Jonah Kaplan said he is "very optimistic about it."

"Abbas is taking initiative, but it still looks skeptical," he said. "Even after 57 years nobody has ever been able to trust Palestinian authority, Palestinians are still weary that Jewish blood is ultimately heavier than water."

Kaplan said he has many friends in Israel and claimed life is no different over there than it is in the United States.

"Palestinians under all circumstances must crack down on the terrorist infrastructure, close the revolving doors in the prisons and take every necessary measure to prevent any attack on innocent Israeli civilians," he said.

Conversely, post graduate student Ashraf El Sherif claimed the current stability is not necessarily permanent.

"I am not optimistic about it because the Israeli right is not willing to compromise about many things and they are in the powerful position to dictate their views on the rest including the Palestinian side," he said in an email.

Sherif said the next step for Israel is to end their policy of targeted assassinations and confront the problem of Israeli settlements in the west bank, which is the major hurdle against peace.