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Israeli evictions are
step toward peace

THE ISSUE Jewish settlers have been evicted from the Gaza Strip and more will be removed from a small area of the West Bank.

FORCED evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip by Israeli security forces, to be repeated soon in northern parts of the West Bank, is painful for the evictees but necessary to put the Middle East on the U.S.-backed "road map" to peace. Patience will be needed to reach the final destination.

Trauma was expected of those being evicted from the Gaza Strip, taken from Egypt during the six-day Israeli-Arab war of 1967. About 8,500 Jewish settlers have occupied about one-third of the narrow strip, surrounded by 1.3 million Arabs. Most of the settlers cooperated in abandoning their homes, with families receiving compensation of up to $300,000.

Nearly 700 Gaza residents protesting the evacuation remained in their homes or at synagogues past the deadline for their departure and have been forcibly removed by Israeli troops. More protests might occur in the upcoming evacuation of 600 families from northern parts of the West Bank, taken from Jordan in the 1967 war; nearly 150,000 Jewish settlers will remain in the West Bank.

Neither Gaza nor the West Bank were included in the establishment of Israel by the United Nations in 1948. Many of the settlers are deeply religious and have caressed the area as holy land, only to be told by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, onetime architect of the settlement movement, to abandon it.

The evacuation will not put the Middle East on the fast track to lasting peace, but neither should it keep the peace effort on idle. It barely nudges Israel and the Palestinian Authority onto the three-phase road map, attaining a secure climate in which blueprints for a separate Palestinian state can be discussed.

The Bush administration should continue to support the efforts of both Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate president of the Palestinian Authority, in bringing stability that can lead eventually to two separate states.

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Come Monday, let’s
be careful out there

THE ISSUE Transportation officials are warning drivers that traffic will be heavier next week when college and private schools start classes.

OAHU'S miserable traffic jams are expected to get even worse next week when close to 50,000 college and private school students, teachers and others return to campuses for the fall semester.

Smart commuters will set off earlier or later in the morning, car pool or even get on TheBus to avoid the crush of cars. Unfortunately, it's not likely that enough drivers will change their routines, so most will end up inching slowly in bumper-to-bumper traffic from home to office and back again.

Whatever the case, those behind the wheel should pay attention to the other kind of traffic sharing the road: children who are often hard to see, the elderly who tend to move more slowly and other adults who are on foot. At the same time, pedestrians should beware of inattentive, impatient or just plain reckless motorists.

Pedestrian injuries and fatalities are on the increase on Oahu, said state Transportation Director Rod Haraga in announcing the "Beat the School Jam" campaign.

Haraga reminded drivers that a new law requires them to stop their vehicles at crosswalks when a pedestrian is in or nearing their half of the street. The car must remain halted until the pedestrian reaches the sidewalk or the other half of the road.

Starting Sept. 1, violators will be ticketed and face fines of $97, but a far greater penalty would be an accident that injures someone. As transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said, drivers should keep in mind that "those pedestrians are somebody's grandma or child or sister."

Those on foot also need to obey the law and not jaywalk, cross against the light or dart into the road. Saving a few steps or a few seconds isn't worth a trip to the hospital or the loss of life. Police also will ticket jaywalkers, who may be fined $70.

Safety on the roads is the responsibility of everyone. A little patience and consideration will go a long way.

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