6 Reasons The Roadmap Will Fail

WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURE IN THIS POST

I've been of the mind for a while now that the "Roadmap" was a dead-end. Some still want to believe that there is hope for it to bring about peace in Israel. Here are six reasons why I don't believe that the region is ready for peace:

Israel obviously doesn't trust the Palestinians yet:

Israeli army soldiers assemble a new concrete checkpoint tower, or pillbox, along the main route connecting northern and southern Gaza, at Deir el-Balah refugee camp, near the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom, Gaza Strip (news - web sites), Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2003. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

The Palestianians have reason to distrust the Israelis:

A residential building is detonated by the Israeli army in the divided West Bank City of Hebron. A Palestinian boy was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli missile while a local head of Hamas' armed wing and his aides were found dead in the building besieged by the army during the operation.(AFP/Hazem Bader)

And as the murder and mayhem continues in Israel:

The weapon and uniform of an Israeli soldier lays amid broken glass at the scene after an exlosion outside an army base near Tel Aviv September 9, 2003. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a major army camp near Tel Aviv on Tuesday, killing at least two people and wounding several, police and rescue workers said. REUTERS/Nir Elias

EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT: Israeli medics evacuate a wounded woman from the scene of a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem cafe, late Tuesday Sept. 9, 2003. A suicide bomber blew up outside a cafe in Jerusalem Tuesday night, killing at least four people and wounding about 40 others, witnesses and rescue workers said. The Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for both suicide bombings in Israel Tuesday. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

The Palestinian people celebrate:

Hamas supporters celebrate in the streets of Gaza City after a suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem, September 9, 2003. The military wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas hailed two suicide bombings in Israel in a statement sent to Al-Jazeera television on Tuesday. Picture taken September 9. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

Hamas supporters celebrate in the streets of Gaza City after a suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem September 9, 2003. The military wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas hailed two suicide bombings in Israel in a statement sent to Al-Jazeera television on Tuesday. Picture taken September 9. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem




The time for peace is not yet upon us. An atmosphere of trust and respect, by both sides, must be built before real progress towards peace can be made. As long as the Israelis feel a need to dig in and fortify or the Palestinians feel a need to celebrate the murder of Israelis, there will be no peace.

True peace begins with the removal of Arafat. Sharon will likely have to follow pretty closely behind. Both men are too polarizing for the other side. They are lightning rods for criticism, founded and unfounded.

Celebrating the murder of a human being or destroying the home of many to get one: those are not foundations of trust or respect.

A house without a foundation will sink and collapse in short order. A peace without trust or respect will do the same.

The region needs to learn to crawl before we can expect it to walk.