Reading the Oct. 11 viewpoints, "why are Israeli dreams the only ones that count?" and "the other family in the picture" inspired me to write this letter. One of the worst enemies of the Israeli people is lack of information, and after reading the articles, I decided that it is my duty to correct some of the glaring errors.
In Israel this summer, I saw the anger, frustration, fear and sadness among my family and friends. I can't describe the horrible feeling that this left me with. Hearing about bombs exploding everyday, families being destroyed, and constant casualties left me with an overwhelming sense of horror that I will probably never be able to express in words.
In the past 13 months, Israel has had to face up to a new reality; a reality in which terrorist attacks and bombs murder civilians everyday. It is a place where parents ask their children to refrain from spending time outside because no place is safe. Israel has become a place where people feel as if they are in home custody. I ask Ms. Al-Saban: do you think that this is what Israel desires?
The majority of the Israeli population strives for peace; no mother wants to send her child to the army to die. In fact, the previous government offered Mr. Arafat 97 percent of the occupied territories with a settlement in Jerusalem, but Mr. Arafat denied the conditions.
It is extremely important to remind Mr. Arafat and the Palestinians that we did not initiate a war with the Arab countries, but rather they attacked us in 1967. We won the war and the occupied territories only because the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was strong.
Like a wise person once said, "terrorism is the war of the new century." Israel is facing a new reality where the safety of the population against terrorism does not depend on the IDF, but rather on the Palestinian police under the supervision of Mr. Arafat. Ms. Al-Saban mentioned that the IDF kills innocent children yet it is the Palestinians who use children as a shield.
They teach children how to use a gun and where the best locations are to throw cement blocks at soldiers in order to kill them. The IDF has no desire to attack innocent people. Live ammunition is only used in a life or death situation. Unfortunately, like every war, there are casualties on both sides.
One solution that Israel tested several times was to close the border to any Palestinian from the occupied territories. This might be the best solution for Israel but may lead to the starvation of many people in the occupied territories, as the Palestinian people depend on Israel's economy to survive.
Every country in the region protests against Israel and their actions, but no one helps the Palestinian people financially. Instead, the other countries give money to the terrorist organizations while the people in the occupied territories survive on the generosity of Israel.
As a solution, Israel lets a small number of people cross the border everyday. Instead of thanking Israel for the generosity, people just like Ms. Al-Saban complain that Israeli soldiers force Palestinians to wait hours at the checkpoints.
After the horrible terrorist attacks of the Sept. 11 the first security measure taken was to close the borders with Canada and Mexico. When America closes its borders, it is seen as an obvious and necessary policy; yet when Israel does the same it is considered unjust and overly harsh.
However, the Palestinians not only depend on Israel for their work, but also for their hospital care. While serving in the army, a friend of mine was shot. Both he and the person who shot him where hospitalized in adjacent rooms in an Israeli hospital. This is clearly not the action of a country that does not care about the Palestinian people.
Ms. Al-Saban also mentioned that Israel stops the Palestinians from having water. Israel is a country with minimal water resources. Every person in Israel is responsible for saving water. Israel is also a water resource for the Palestinians. Just as it is for the people in Israel the use of water is limited for the Palestinians. In order to evade the restrictions the Palestinians steal water from Israel. I believe that this fact was left out of the article.
Can Israel let the Palestinians have their own country? History taught Israel that they couldn't depend on any government to stop terrorism. Just a year ago after the UN declared that Israel gave all the occupied territories back to Lebanon, a terrorist organization kidnapped Israeli soldiers.
Until now the UN could not get a reasonable agreement for their return. Should Israel give all the power to Mr. Arafat and depend on him to stop the terror? Israel is not afraid to use the word Palestine, but rather that when Palestine is declared a country, Israel will not be able to protect itself. After the tragedy of the Sept. 11, the US knows first hand that a strong army is not a solution against terrorism.
As long as people believe that terrorism is a solution to their problems, the Israeli government CAN'T proceed with the peace process. Only when this brutal violence ends and Mr. Arafat stops supporting terrorism can Israel proceed with the peace process.
The war against terrorism is probably the most heinous war that anyone will ever have to face. Terrorists hurt innocent men, women, and children. They don't fear death and believe that they act in the name of god. The only solution is to find them first and prevent them from taking action.
Israel has asked Mr. Arafat to arrest these people. However, no arrests have been made and terrorism continues all over Israel. During this past summer a sniper shot an infant and another terrorist used a bomb in a nightclub killing 23 teenagers.
There is no country that can ignore these vicious attacks on its youth. Israel decided to find the men responsible for these attacks. The new government decided that if Mr. Arafat will not help in this matter the IDF would take action. The new slogan was "dead or alive the terrorists will be stopped." Similarly the new slogan in the US is Ben Laden "dead or alive."
Mr. Kayyali in his article blamed Mr. Weissman for not coming to terms with the atrocities Israel has committed against the Palestinian people. To him, I would like to say use your own words to judge yourself and the people that you represent. Use the past to learn from your mistakes, but don't live by the past. Until you realize that terrorism is not the solution you will, as you said, probably not be able to walk in the streets of Jerusalem.
I do believe that a solution can be found. Most Palestinians are good, only a small group of terrorists believe that terror is the solution to their problems. Their money comes from terrorist groups, like bin Laden, and they ignore the devastating conditions that their people have to live with. When the majority of the Palestinians take action against these terrorists a solution will be found.
Tsvika Klein is a graduate student pursuing a masters in computer science. He served in the Israeli army from 1993-1996.
