Whether it be the latest suicide bombing in a crowded Jerusalem café or continued pillaging of Arafat's military compound, photos of smoke-covered streets and blood-stained clothing litter the daily news. While we wage a war on terror, the Middle East continues to bomb itself into oblivion, speaking terms of truce in the same sentence as ordering a preemptive strike.

The roots of the problem are many and interconnected. Matters are only complicated when nearly all the world's major religions claim the land to be sacred.

Determining which group should retain certain sections of the regions equates to assigning value to the validity of each religion's claim.

Canaan, the land of bread and honey, was the promised land of the Jews, while the Savior of all Christians hails from Bethlehem and Nazareth. Muslims cry foul when Israel refuses to relinquish its hold on the Temple Mount. Many conflicts of interest arise, yet there is no mutually agreeable point to which all can come.

The current intifada and accompanying Israeli action will continue to perpetuate itself in the beauty of its circular nature. Whoever started the violence is not an issue; rather, it is who will end it. Presently, with each suicide bomber comes a further Israeli offensive into Gaza or the West Bank.

With each penetration, another Arab extremist finds the willpower to blow himself to pieces. Each extremist feeds further resentment and more missiles pelting PLO compounds.

Without external mediation, the Israelis and Palestinians will not stop this horrific cycle. Sadly, it seems the only end will come when one side has been completely eradicated. This does not have to be the case. Though each Palestinian death angers Arab leaders in the region, none have declared war on Israel, providing a glimpse of what a (relative) peace may entail.

A viable Palestinian state is possible, provided that Israel recognizes it diplomatically and vice versa. The Palestinian state must have a stable and accountable government prior to this occurring.

Other Arab states in the region, as proposed at their recent summit, would recognize Israel as a state if it pulled back to pre-1967 borders.

Though a rather simple solution, getting to the point is nearly impossible.

First, the world has questioned Arafat's true motives. He has little to no hold over the actions of his people, and many still accuse him of being easy on anti-Israeli terrorist groups.

Before Israel makes any peace offering, they must be assured it is not received with a bloodstained hand.

Because of Palestinian instability, Israel must be the leader in ending the violence. Though some may reason that ceasing the current offensive will be giving in to the suicide bombers, it is the only hope to ending the cycle of violence.

A peace agreement cannot be brokered in the midst of war; a unilateral ceasefire and pullback voluntarily enacted by the Israelis will help them shed the label of aggressor. It will also taint Arafat if the suicide bombings continue, forcing him to crackdown and approach the bargaining table with a lesser hand.

Territory is always the problematic point in peace negotiations. The problem with the Palestinian state to be created is the non-unification of its land holdings. The Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights are in three different regions, separated completely by Israel. Jerusalem itself has consistently been the downfall of past negotiations, especially President Clinton's last-ditch attempt at Camp David two years ago.

International control of the entire city seems to be the only way peace could be attained.

Though I fully support the stabilization of Afghanistan with the use of peacekeepers and armed forces, it seems absurd that there is such little interest in using the same troops to help stabilize the Middle East.