Bush takes vital role.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Israelis and Palestinians are strangling each other, and neither is willing to let go of the other's throat first. Resolving such a standoff requires the intervention of a third party, well equipped with both carrots and sticks, and even then success is no sure thing. President Bush has avoided the role of Mideast peacemaker since taking office - until this week. The effort is politically risky but vital nonetheless, and Bush deserves encouragement for taking the chance.

The president met Tuesday with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and they were joined by Mahmoud Abbas, the new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. All five promised to fight "the culture of extremism and violence" in the Mideast, and specifically to cut off financing for groups responsible for suicide bombings in Israel. It's a mistake to view Palestinian violence as a product of foreign incitement or support - its primary fuel is homegrown rage and despair - but even a rhetorical commitment from Arab leaders to a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is welcome.

Bush then met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Abbas in Jordan, where specifics that had been avoided at the Arab leaders' summit were discussed. Sharon repeated his earlier statements to the effect that Israel can't continue to govern millions of Palestinians indefinitely. More concretely, he pledged to begin dismantling illegal Israeli settlements in the territories occupied since the 1967 war and to support the creation of a "contiguous" Palestinian state.

Those are significant promises from Sharon, who has been a promoter of the settlement movement throughout his career. Skeptics doubt that Sharon intends to dismantle more than a few of the settlements, which have doubled in population to 200,000 in the past decade. His support for a "contiguous" Palestine, however, indicates the doubters may be wrong. A long-standing concern is that settlers' enclaves, linked by roads and protected by Israeli soldiers, would make any Palestinian state resemble Swiss cheese. Territorial contiguity, necessary of a viable state, will require a significant shrinkage of the settlers' presence.

Abbas, for his part, said that "the armed intifada must end." Abbas has said before that he opposes the Palestinian uprising that began nearly three years ago, but has not until now said that he would put a stop to it - permitting only law enforcement officials to carry guns, and denouncing "terrorism and violence against Israelis wherever they are." Those last three words are significant, implying that killing Israeli soldiers in the occupied territories is as unacceptable as suicide bombings directed at civilians inside Israel.

Both leaders' ability to deliver on their promises will face severe tests. Only a narrow majority of Sharon's own cabinet supports Bush's peace plan, and then only with a list of reservations. The extent of Abbas' authority is not yet clear. Each man can help the other rise in stature by following through with the pledges made Wednesday - but each also faces intense opposition from extremists who regard any concession as a step toward self-annihilation.

President Bush, for his part, needs to keep the pressure on. The first stage of his road map to peace has not been implemented, but a foundation has been laid in the Arab world, in Israel and in the future Palestine. It couldn't have happened without a push from the United States, and it won't go further without continued prodding by the president.