During his February, 2001, visit to Israel and Palestine, US Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that President "W" Bush will play an active role in further attempts to achieve peace when the current violence stops. Even then, however, the Bush Administration signals it will play a much diminished role in promoting peace negotiations.
The violence may not stop for a long time. Years of Israel's brutal killing of young stone throwers have scarred Palestinians deeply; these atrocities haveescalated during Indefadah II. On top of these traumas, there are the tangible deprivations of poverty, intensified by new Israeli blockades of roads and economic rip-offs. Such suffering produces outrage on a visceral level which is unrelated to the policies of Yassar Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.
The eight-year period of relative non-violence during consideration of the Oslo Peace Accords resulted in increased settlement-building and retrenchment of repressive practices by Israel. On an individual and personal level, Palestinians have become, with good reason, convinced that non-violence is counter productive when it comes to dealing with Israeli Jews. The clear evidence of the futility of Oslo and the Israeli withdrawal from its occupation of Lebanon in the face of fierce resistance by Hezbollah fighters supports continued dedication to force and martyrdom by Palestinians.