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Each time Israel conducts an assassination operation in the territories, or when settlers randomly fire on Palestinian homes and vehicles, lives of innocents are threatened--and often lost--and thus the cycle of retaliation is ensured. Moreover, the lack of any legal pretext for such actions places Israel outside the self-proclaimed ethical bounds held central to its foundation and continued existence.

Contrary to repeated Israeli and U.S. statements regarding Yasser Arafat's ability to control extremists, divisions within Palestinian government and society--exacerbated by U.S. and Israeli demands for state-like action from an increasingly illegitimate non-state entity--render unrealistic the demands to control every potential terrorist action.

These statements merely increase popular support for extremists.

Even within those groups, either directly sponsoring or linked to terrorist acts, there are multiple divisions and no cohesive and accountable hierarchy. Fatah, the secular movement which Arafat heads, itself is divided. The absence of a real Israeli or U.S. willingness to promote a politically, economically stable Palestinian state makes it impossible for Arafat to justify mass arrests and detentions of anti-Israeli extremists. Moreover, by asking the Palestinian Authority to conduct mass arrests and detentions, Israel and the U.S. are reinforcing the PA's repressive instincts; do Israel and the United States want the PA to discard notions of democracy and human rights in favor of actions more akin to regimes in Syria or Iraq?

This pressure not only garners even greater Arab distrust of U.S. policy in the region but also needlessly endangers American as well as Israeli lives while promoting the creation of yet another authoritarian Arab regime.

There can be no justification for terrorism. Israel's dependence on assassination and military intimidation--methods centered on terror and fear--to combat extremism and impose an overtly pro-Israeli settlement jeopardizes innocent Israeli lives.

A stable, politically and economically viable Palestinian state is essential for Israel's security. Without a counter-terrorism policy that prioritizes such development, Israeli leaders are guaranteeing prolonged bloodshed.