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Section I. International Affairs

PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD FADES
A suicide attack last week that killed 14 casts more doubt on the
viability of a possible Palestinian state
JERUSALEM - US Undersecretary of State William Burns arrived in
Israel last week bearing a road map to settle the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. But analysts here say the basic concept
underlying Middle East peace efforts - a state for both peoples - is
becoming obsolete.
The road map, part of a United States push to muster regional
support for war against Iraq, outlines steps to create a Palestinian
state alongside Israel. The idea of coexisting states, based on a
land-for-peace formula, has been the blueprint for peace efforts
for more than a decade.
But as Mr. Bums was arriving to tout the latest incarnation, Israelis
and Palestinians were increasingly questioning whether an
independent Palestinian entity is even feasible.
"If we were offered [a state] now It might be viable, but I don't know
if it will be practical in three, five, seven years," says Palestinian
Minister of Labor Ghassan Khatib. "Given political reality, the
settlement policy, and the radicalization of Palestinian politics, I
think that every day the viability of the two-state solution is less
and less."
Gulf of mistrust Analysts point to the steady, sprawl of Israeli
construction in the Occupied Territories, the vast gulf of mutual
distrust that has widened over two years of bitter fighting, and a
lack of political will.
"Looking at the situation objectively, it's hard to resist the
conclusion that the two-state idea is in deep trouble," says one
diplomat.

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