With violence in the Middle East spiraling out of control, the only hope for peace in the region is a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories. This so-called military operation to root out the terrorist cells operating inside of Palestine is nothing more than terrorism itself.

The daily humiliation and destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure is in no way helping the Palestinian or Israeli situation. This military incursion is doing nothing more than alienating the Palestinian people because they see absolutely no hope for peace. It is also angering the important Arab allies in the region whose role in the peace process is imperative if there is to be a long lasting peace between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

This occupation must stop immediately before we pass the breaking point. For instance, the other day I saw that in Bethlehem the hospitals and the morgues cannot keep up with the number of innocent Palestinian men, women and children being murdered by the Israeli army. The hospital officials had to dig up the parking lot so that they could have room to bury these people, as with accordance to Islamic law the dead need to be buried on the same day that they are killed. Because of the occupation, ambulances are not able to get to many of the wounded and dead to either treat them or take the dead bodies away for proper burial.

Bethlehem is a closed military zone and a 24-hour curfew has been ordered. A Palestinian man had to sit in his shot-up, destroyed home for over 30 hours with his dead mother and brother. He was there until an ambulance arrived and took the bodies away. These images do not seem consistent with Israel as a country attempting to defend itself — more like a country trying to inflict as much death, torture and horror on an occupied people as possible.

Human-rights groups and international governments have been outraged by the treatment of the Palestinian people; the actions by the Sharon government are in direct conflict with the 4th Geneva Convention. These war crimes Sharon and his government are inflicting on the Palestinian people must end. The only way to end the conflict is a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories.

Peace in this region is not out of reach, but unfortunately it seems like the small glimmer of hope is rapidly diminishing. President Bush and our government must make a concerted effort in the peace process. They must not allow Sharon to continue to murder, exploit and humiliate the Palestinian people. Our government alone is capable of applying the necessary external pressure on Israel to make them stop terrorizing Palestinian people.

It is not only an international interest, but also a domestic interest to stop the violence perpetrated on the Palestinian people. We in the United States are already feeling the ill effects of Sharon's policy; oil prices are on the rise and fear of violence affects our businesses and markets. The only way to bring peace to the region is to have an active dialogue between the two parties and for this to begin, the senseless killing of innocent Palestinian and Israeli civilians must end.

Omar Al-Nouri ([email protected]) is a graduate student in microbiology.