Arab league ponders West Bank

By Jason Dilg
The Metropolitan

Metro students and faculty with ties to the Middle East called for additional Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and for closer ties between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East, in response to the apparent assassination of a Palestinian bomb-maker in Israel.

Robert Hazan, a political science professor, said if bomb-maker Mohiyedin Sharif was killed by a Hamas member, it could be because he agreed to hold back terrorist attacks against Israel at Palestinian leader Yasir Arafatâs request.
 

ãThere are still influential and heavily-armed groups that reject the peace process,ä Hazan said.
Sharif was found dead, with bullet holes in his chest, next to an exploded car in the Palestinian-ruled town of Ramallah.

The Palestinians said agents from Israelâs domestic intelligence agency assassinated Sharif. The Israelis denied they killed Sharif, and instead criticized the Palestinians for allowing a known terrorist to make bombs ãright under their nose.ä

The Palestinian Authority had since cleared the Israelis of blame and had arrested five members of the militant Islamic group Hamas in connection with the killing.

Metro student Naomi Wolinsky said she wasnât surprised to learn that the bomb-maker was likely killed by the hand of a Palestinian.

ãPalestinians, as well as Israelis, are divided amongst themselves.  If an Israeli could kill (Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin, then why couldnât a Palestinian kill Muhi Sharif?ä

Wolinsky, a Jew born in Cheyenne, Wyo., represented Palestine at the Rocky Mountain Model Arab League in March and is the founder and president of Jewish Students at Auraria.
 

Hazan and Wolinsky participated in the Rocky Mountain Model Arab League in Colorado Springs in March. 

The 12-student group, advised by Hazan, came back from the conference with best-delegation honors.

Wolinsky said she felt the stalled peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis could be rekindled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he agrees to withdraw Israeli forces from an additional 13 percent of the West Bank. Netanyahu has said Israel will not withdraw.

ã(Netanyahu) immediately showed...that the settlements are not going to be dismantled,ä Hazan said. ã. I think that is counterproductive.ä

Hazan added that the Palestinians should work harder to stop terrorism and convince the Palestinian people that Israel is a legitimate state. 

ãPeaceful coexistence is a very important public education process,ä he said.

Such education, Hazan said, should include cultural exchanges and the use of art and music as a medium to bring the people together to get beyond ãthe evil images attached to visions of what the enemy is.ä