Chronicle copy chief Georgia Evdoxiadis weighs in this week with a commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. It is well written, as one would expect of our dear copy chief, but in the end is off the mark. She says Israel has gone too far in its attempt to cripple the terrorist forces in the West Bank. But I’m not particularly interested in that. Here’s where I take major exception:

It is increasingly obvious that the Israelis and Palestinians cannot be left alone in the Middle East. They have proved, like two violent children, that they cannot play nicely. It is time for the United States and the rest of the world to step in and take control of the situation.

If they are really immature, like children, what makes Evdoxiadis think that the United States can really get them to play nicely? They’ve been fighting over this turf for 52 years and billions of dollars in U.S. aid, diplomatic cajoling, etc. seems to have made little difference.

Evdoxiadis continues:

President Bush and the United States no longer have the luxury of non-involvement. The Middle East conflict will influence all future foreign policy issues, including any decisions countries might make about aiding an effort to depose a certain Persian Gulf dictator. The United States must lay down the law to Sharon in a way that makes potential consequences clear. If he still refuses to comply, our country should not hesitate to punish violence and human rights violations.

So the United States should punish Sharon’s violent efforts to punish Palestinian violent activities. Yeah, that should work just fine. Clearly, Sharon is quite convinced that what he’s doing in the West Bank will be effective, and doesn’t give much of a hoot about what Dubya thinks. If Israel wants true independence from Washington, it should wean itself off the teat of American foreign aid. Certainly, the United States should cut it off before Sharon even has a chance to ask. Israel doesn’t much care about U.S. opinion — they shouldn’t have a need for American dollars or equipment, either.

Evdoxiadis concludes:

Few can deny that the Jewish people deserve a place to live, but so do the Palestinians. There must be a way to reconcile the two. Now is the time for action if that goal is ever to be reached.

Yes, there just must be a way. But what way? Only the two sides can settle this conflict. U.S. threats aren’t going to help any, because when it comes down to it, both sides view this as a fight for survival. It’s only when they arrive at the point where they feel that coexistence is better than mutual destruction will things ever get better. And there’s not much the United States can do to help them reach that point, except act as an interlocutor in negotiations. To say “there must be a way” is to be naive about the situation, and to think that U.S. involvement will do anything more than harm American security is to be dangerously naive.