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Price for peace? By Sharon Chaplik June 7, 2001 A crowded street of teenagers looking forward to a night out on the town was transformed into a sea of sirens, as young bodies were ripped apart by the actions of a mad man consumed by hate. Children screaming, terrified, maimed, wounded. Parents frantically searching the hospitals for their loved ones, some going with heavy, broken steps to the Institute of Forensic Medicine to identify the dead. Little flowers approaching bloom were crushed and mourning mothers left wringing their hands and hearts in grief. And this is what has become of us. Roadblocks set up at the entrance to all major cities, heavily guarded shopping malls, constant alert for any suspicious looking objects, siege on the territories, no entry to Palestinian workers into Israel - and the list goes on. Essentially we are becoming prisoners in our own home. Each of us has a wall of fear growing within. As parents we are unable to shield our children from this kind of terror. Our instincts scream vengeance for every life taken, for every victim lying in hospital. But what is the price of an all-out war - thousands more dead? On the other hand, what possible comfort can a cease-fire offer to one reciting Kaddish? The settlers find themselves fenced in - on one side by Palestinians who want them out and on the other side by a government whose policies they feel are not giving them enough protection. It must be said that every government in Israel, Right and Left alike, has given full legitimacy to most of the settlements; they did not just crouch up overnight. For whatever political, military and ideological reasons created these communities, the fact remains that their residents live in daily fear, not knowing if they will return home alive at day's end. The demonstrations that took place outside Jaffa after Friday's horrific bombing are further testimony to the public's growing anger, frustration and helplessness. There is a backdrop of desolation hanging over the whole region as leaders frantically try to hold onto shreds of a fast-tearing hope for any peace. Even the word "peace" has been overused and is washed out. It is a word soaked in blood. Focus now is on stopping the violence. One thing is for sure. Israel must not take its public mood for granted and it cannot fall back to the previous pattern of handing out empty ultimatums. Today the sun rose over young friends and classmates
left behind holding silent vigil, lighting candles, watching over flames
that flicker, crying over 20 flames that will burn no more.
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