AS THE Israelis and Palestinians hurry to consolidate their recent mutual
peace overtures to strengthen the ceasefire declared last week, more
attention is being directed to the issue of incitement and how to end it.

That is why Palestinian Minister of Information Nabil Amr and Israeli
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom decided recently on the formation of a joint
committee. Relevant to these discussions is Article 20 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which stipulates in its first
paragraph that "any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law." The
second paragraph states that "any advocacy of national, racial or religious
hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination or violence shall be
prohibited by law." Accordingly, the Palestinians and Israelis have
something concrete to go on in their determined effort to end the ongoing
incitement to hostility, hatred and animosity. But the achievement of that
goal is easier said than done.

After so many decades of hostility between the two sides, it is not going
to be easy to end it forthwith. There is no magic wand capable of attaining
this noble objective. Decades of warfare that took a heavy toll on the
lives of Palestinians and Israelis alike, left scars of hatred and
suspicion that cannot be removed in one step. Still it is encouraging that
the two sides have recognised the existence of the problem and are about to
begin the process of healing by attacking the root causes of their current
hostility.

For the Palestinians nothing less than the restoration of their legitimate
rights to freedom and independence on their national soil would end their
sense of bitterness and animosity towards Israel. The Israeli people are
also entitled to the end of Arab hostility so that they may live in peace.
This Israeli goal coexists with the Palestinian call for respect for their
basic rights. The two objectives are not mutually exclusive. The years of
bitterness can indeed be replaced by years of friendship and mutual
recognition. Now that the two sides are working hard to start the process
for genuine healing of old and historic wounds, their peoples can hold out
hope for true reconciliation and peace-building.