In an attempt to kill Hamas political leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, Israel launched a helicopter strike in Gaza on Tuesday, killing five Palestinians and injuring more than 60. Rantissi vowed revenge from his hospital bed.

The assassination attempt followed the killing of five Israeli soldiers on Sunday in northern Gaza and in the West Bank city of Hebron, in a rare joint operation by the Palestinian extremist groups Hamas, the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and Islamic Jihad.

The episode appeared to doom any hopes for an end to 32 months of bloodshed in the region in the foreseeable future, despite the formal launch of a US-backed roadmap peace plan at the Aqaba summit in Jordan held on June 4.

The new violence also dealt a hefty blow to the politically vulnerable Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who has been battling to persuade Hamas and other militant hardliners to agree to a ceasefire with Israel to facilitate the peace plan.

Accusing Abbas of making too many concessions to Israel, Hamas called off the truce talks and called for joint opposition to the roadmap plan and continued resistance against Israeli occupation.

The continuation of extreme actions can only contribute to further hostility and preclude international efforts to revive the peace process in the region.

Once again, the world was reminded that the road towards peace in the Middle East remains rocky and the peace plan alone cannot solve the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The situation also challenges the United States to increase pressure on and to become even more involved with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinians.

It requires the sustained courage of all the leaders concerned to overcome the obstacles ahead. It is essential for both sides to abandon the prevailing mentality which sees any compromise as "betraying the cause" to avoid derailing the peace process.

(China Daily June 12, 2003)