Next, let's look at the history of the peace process over the last nine years. Basically, Yitzhak Rabin, the first Prime Minister to offer massive concessions (and set up the Palestinian Authority in its current form with Israeli money, weapons, etc.), was killed by a radical Israeli who thought Rabin was going too far at Oslo. The premise of Oslo was: prove you can handle a "state" while we help you out, and if you do a decent job, you'll get one.

If the Palestinians really wanted to live in their own state, separate from Israel, they would have tried much harder to show they could handle it. The second Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, offered at least 95 percent of what the Palestinians wanted and Arafat just got up and left with no counteroffer or explanation. A month later, Arafat launched the current intifada. Barak was later voted out of office for offering such huge concessions, although he failed to get an agreement, and for the violence of the intifada. At least he gave it a shot.

Clearly, Israeli political leaders have long been willing to stake their political and mortal lives to reach an agreement. What more could Israel's leaders do? I suppose Barak could not have asked Arafat to take out the part calling for the destruction of Israel in the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) charter.

The bottom line is that, over time, the Israelis have been asked to give up something tangible, land, for something intangible, promises. Many of the promises made at and since Oslo have been broken by Arafat and his regime. Arafat promised to stop teaching/broadcasting anti-Jewish/American propaganda, but it still goes on in schools and the state-controlled media. The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly attempted to smuggle millions of dollars worth of weapons into their territory, blatantly violating a key agreement made at Oslo.

According to George F. Will's column, "Powell's Intrusion" (Nov. 25, 2001), recent raids of Arafat's compound found documents showing strong cooperation between the P.A. and the Iraqis. For example, exiled Iraqi intelligence officers reported to the U.N. in 1997 that the Palestinian embassy in Iraq hides Iraqi weapons of mass destruction documents. Would you trust someone who has a track record of so many (those listed are just a few) broken promises?

Israel is a thriving democracy with a per capita income a little behind Canada. The Palestinians have been given billions over the years to help increase their quality of life, yet they've lived in the same horrible conditions for over 50 years. Where does the money go? Terror. We know Arafat supports groups, like the al-Aqsa Martyr Brigade, that kill innocent civilians and proclaim they will never be happy without the complete destruction of Israel. These groups cannot be reasoned with. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Israeli public don't really hate all the Palestinians; they only hate groups that try to kill their children.

How do you negotiate with groups that repeatedly say they will not be happy until you are destroyed? The Israelis have tried anyway. Until the recent problems, they've done such things as give Palestinians jobs, utilities and even medical care. If you bomb someone and survive, it's possible that you'll share a hospital room with one of your victims. Yet, according to John Rourke's book, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Politics, 80 percent of Palestinians support the violence in the intifada. Clearly, dialogue has failed, and so will the creation of a clearly hostile Palestinian state at this time. The groups that seek to destroy Israel will continue their terrorism until Israel no longer exists, or they no longer exist, whichever comes first.

Arafat and his government have failed miserably, violating virtually every agreement ever made. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Arafat had a chance, and now Bush and Sharon have said they will only negotiate a state with new leadership.

Maybe in the future a truly committed leader will step up and prove they can run that state. But for now, it's time to realize that Israel is one of our greatest allies in the war on terror. We declared war on terror a year ago. Israel has been fighting that war for over 50 years of its existence. As newcomers to this war, we can definitely learn a thing or two from them.