Cartoon Unduly Cynical About Peace in Middle East

To the editors:

The cartoon on last Friday's editorial page (12/4), depicting Benjamin Netanyahu next to the Wye Peace Accord signed with invisible ink, is unduly cynical in light of recent events in the Middle East. The cartoon implies that the Peace Process is about to collapse and that Israel alone is to blame for this imminent collapse. We disagree with both propositions.

Why such pessimism? In the past month Israel has released 250 Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian Authority has opened its airport in Gaza, and Israeli troops have begun to withdraw from selected areas of the West Bank. While it is true that Prime Minister Netanyahu has threatened a halt to additional withdrawals, he has done so in response to Chairman Arafat's promise to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state in May 1999 (before the conclusion of the delicate final status peace talks), in direct violation of the Wye Agreement.

We hope that both leaders will move beyond this latest obstacle and resume the difficult business of making peace. Considering that the agreement at Wye has not been derailed by two recent terrorist attempts by Palestinian suicide bombers, we see that there is hope for the accord and, eventually, a lasting peace between Israel and the future Palestinian state. BEN LEBWOHL '99   ALEXIS OFFEN '00   Dec. 6, 1998 The writers are co-chairs of Harvard Students for Israel.