By Becca Morrison

Staff Writer

The possibility for peace in the Middle East seems to have died along with Israeli Tourism Minister and strong nationalist Rehavam Zeevi, when he was recently assassinated by a radical Palestinian faction.

On October 17, Israeli tanks moved into various Palestinian-controlled areas and started ``using excessive force against Palestinian protestors and gunmen,'' said a United Nations human rights investigator. Israeli bulldozers also leveled two Palestinian buildings in east Jerusalem. Israel claimed the buildings had been built illegally.

According to BBC reports, sections of Bethlehem looked liked a war zone after the violence on the Oct. 22 weekend. It was reported that shop fronts were demolished and buildings were scarred by bullets and tank fire. The New York Times described Tulkarm, another city Israeli troops zoomed in on, as full of visible tank tracks cut into the paved streets, crushed curbs, bowed street lights, bullet-pocked houses, and gaping holes in the sides of buildings from tank shells. As of Tuesday, some 40 Palestinians had been killed.

The hopes of the U.S. Policy for reducing the violence and reviving peace were shattered by Israeli invasion, and an unhappy America has strongly called for ``immediate'' Israeli withdrawal, while condemning the loss of lives.

The New York Times proclaimed the invasion ``ill-advised'' and warned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against actions that could undermine Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat's authority.

Realizing how much they angered their important ally, Israel announced their withdrawal from the West Bank Towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jalla a week after the initial ivasion. However, Sharon has refused to completely move out until the Palestinians can guarantee security. This includes the arrest and handover of the men behind Mr. Zeevi's assassination.

A big concern rests on the question of whether or not Mr. Arafat will be able to control his people's growing frustration and outrage over the incursion.

According to BBC, Arafat exerted strong efforts to restore order by arresting the leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who claim responsibility for Mr. Zeevi's assassination. But until Arafat has complete control over the tumultuous nation, he will not be able to stop the vicious cycle of violence.

A BBC report stated that leaving diplomacy aside, the biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the attitude of extremists on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides who are determined, for their own very different reasons, to block any type of deal of the type discussed in recent years.

BBC reports stated that Palestinian Mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Nasser, said the Israeli operation in Bethlehem had left a legacy of hatred as well as costing the Palestinians $18 million in lost revenue. The governor of the Tulkarm area, Izaddin al Sharief, said in the New York Times that as long as Israel continued the raid, there wasn't much he or other leaders could do to stop Palestinian violence.

``I'm fed up with this life, where we have only death and injury and blood,'' he said.

As Israeli troops continue to lounge in Palestinian territories, anti-Israel and consequently anti-American sentiment is rising.

Bin Laden is quickly becoming a hero among many Palestinian people. Arafat was reportedly forced to order his security forces to use live bullets to break up demonstrations in Gaza, killing two young men in the process.

Nevertheless, President Bush and English Prime Minister Blair have shown optimism for the peace process resuming and according to BBC reports, expressed publicly their support for establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

The report also expressed the leaders' recognition that the war against terrorism would not succeed until the Palestinian-Israeli crisis is resolved.

Arab leaders have made their backing for the terrorism war conditional depending on the outcome of this issue.