Middle East: Can the roadmap to peace work?

Thousands took to the streets in Gaza City on Thursday for the funerals of twelve Palestinians killed in a raid by Israeli forces on Thursday.

The incursion came as the two sides in the Middle East conflict consider a "roadmap for peace" drafted by envoys from the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia.

According to the Associated Press news agency, the Palestinian Foreign Minister is said to have called for the immediate implementation of the peace plan, although the document has been rejected outright by Hamas.

Can the "roadmap" for peace help resolve the conflict in the Middle East?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

The roadmap CAN work David, UK

People said that no-one could ever get peace in Northern Ireland - but we seem to be making some progress. People said it would be impossible to demolish Apartheid in South Africa without a similar situation happening - it didn't. Overall, the roadmap CAN work - it just remains to be seen whether all of us (not just Israel, the Palestinians and the US) are willing to LET it work.
David, UK

I think President Bush is starting to lean on Sharon very hard. There is no way anyone can say that neither State has a right to exist. Bush has committed himself to see that there is a viable Palestinian State. It may cost us an ally for the short term; Israel. To see that the US, EU, UN and Russia back "the roadmap for peace" without another big mess in the UN shows that not only can this be done, but some huge rifts over Iraq can be healed in the process.
Mr Sandy Clark, San Francisco, USA

One only has to read the Arab and Israeli press to realise that there is far too much hate for this roadmap to have any chance at all.
M.D. McIver, England

The roadmap will not work because it is drawn by Israel's closest friend and largest military supplier. Only the UN can provide a roadmap to peace not the US.
Smith, Canada

The Oslo accord was bad, and ended up creating the situation we have now. "Roadmap" repeats all the same mistakes - strict time schedule and fanatic determination to go on with the process at all costs - even if terrorist attacks continue and grow in numbers. As much as I want to be optimistic, I don't see any reasons for "roadmap" to lead anywhere other than hell.
Alexander, Israel

Justice for the Palestinian people is vital for peace in the region Suzanne, New Zealand

I believe it can and will work. Doubtless, there will be obstacles to be overcome, but justice for the Palestinian people is vital for peace in the region and to stop the spread of Arab terrorism. Once Israel and Palestine co-exist, Arab dictators in the region will have no-one to blame but themselves for the state of their own countries.
Suzanne, New Zealand

The only way peace will ever come to the Middle East is when Israel and the Palestinians make up their minds to be cohabitants of the area they share.
Clyde Preston, USA

As long as there is so much hate, there will always be war. As long as so much money is made from war, there will always be hate. You do the math...
D M, USA

The entire world community wishes the roadmap to succeed. But how can it work when both cultures insist of the concept of revenge?
Andrew Kencis, Canada

The prospect is a truly exciting one but without real commitment and meaningful action it will not be realised L Mcaulay, Malaysia

It can if the peacemakers in Israel and Palestine want it to. However, are they able to quell the hawks who wish to promote further hostilities and hatred? Israel may well require a new leader to be able to achieve this, for their part. Justice for Palestine must be genuine and Palestinians must be free from further Israeli incursions and settlements. Mahmoud Abbas will have to counter the extreme elements in his country and sideline Yasser Arafat, once and for all. The prospect is a truly exciting one but without real commitment and meaningful action it will not be realised. The price for failure will be appalling, for the world, not only for the Middle East.
L Mcaulay, Malaysia

The Israeli intention when they took over Palestine more than 50 years ago was to get rid of Arabs from the land and have the country totally as their own. This idea has not changed and the roadmap means nothing.
Chris Huxford, Canada

The road map will only work if the international community forces the Palestinian and Arab side to stop their incitement against Israelis. There is no point in trying to make a peace process if Palestinians are teaching their children that it is good to kill and are encouraging them to be suicide bombers. Until this is done the terrorists will always be able to hijack the situation. And sadly this is not even being mentioned.
Roy Kinston, Australia

This roadmap is aimed at legitimising Israeli land grabs Masood A Sheikh, USA

This Israel-Americana roadmap is aimed at legitimising Israeli land grabs and at making Palestinians' dispossessions permanent. The Palestinians and the whole world must unite against this injustice. There will be no peace without justice.
Masood A Sheikh, USA

No, I do not see any road map working, not even this one. There is too much of a power struggle with the Palestinians. Too many groups are colliding. It's a good plan, but it is something the Palestinians can't do. They hate the Israelis too much to stop hurting them. They don't even care about the land anymore.
Izaak, USA

This roadmap looks very like the same old well-worn path that both sides have trodden in the past and will probably lead to the same cul-de-sac.
John Michael, UK

I truly hope that the new "roadmap" does work. The Palestinians and the Israelis both need to work hard for this or else it will probably be too late.
Chris, NYC, USA

As a Palestinian living in Jordan, I think this roadmap is just another thing to waste time on. Both sides know deep down inside that this is an attempt to no avail. On the other hand, I don't mean to be negative.. I try to be optimistic on realistic solutions. Let's move forward rather than wasting time in trying pointless useless solutions out on the people of Palestine!
Luma Q, Jordan

These are after all the two communities that need to co-exist Mrinalini, India

Peace in the Middle East will not materialise if the basic economic differences between a rich Israeli side and a poor Arab community are not addressed. There appears to be no movement on this front, with generations growing up on either side with different opportunities. Perhaps what is required is not an imposed solution with the help of the US, EU, UN and Russia, but one where ordinary Israelis and Palestinians participate to confront their problems. These are after all the two communities that need to co-exist.
Mrinalini, India

We will not know if the road map will work or not unless both Israel and the Palestinians try their utmost and not let themselves be prisoners of history. There has been enough violence, enough blood and enough suffering on both sides. It's now time to give peace a chance.
Roger, Canada

Yes, the roadmap will work out if both the Israelis and the Palestinians make serious commitment and action to fulfil the new peace plan for the Palestinian state by 2005.
Kamaluddin Sodawala, France

This roadmap will lead to nowhere Wael Hasan, Palestine

This is yet another sorry chapter in the sad history of the Middle East. This roadmap will lead to nowhere. It is just another piece of paper that will soon join the heap of previous attempts to solve this problem. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are ready for a solution yet. I am afraid such a solution will have to wait until a major change occurs in the balance of power in this area, and this does not look to happen any time soon.
Wael Hasan, Palestine

The roadmap will have a sure chance of working if there's an equitable distribution of territory and neither Palestine nor Israel is a disjoint state. A 50/50 share of territory with, approximately, Israel in the north and Palestine in the south would seem to me to be a fair settlement given that we're starting in 2003 and not 1920. In addition, the major religious sites must be under international administration with free access to all.
John M, UK

The roadmap to peace will only work if there is full compliance. People may be cynical, but I see this as a reasonable step forward, which given time and real effort can be made to succeed. Whether it succeeds or not is really crucial to peace in the Middle East.
Bradley Thomas, UK

Both sides have to be able to make major concessions for the good of their people Michael, USA

The only way this will ever work out is for both sides to pull back. The Palestinians have to stop suicide attacks and Israel has to pull back its settlements and its advancements into Palestinian territory. Both sides have to be able to make major concessions for the good of their people. Until they both decide to budge and swallow their pride then this "roadmap" will never work.
Michael, USA

How can the 'roadmap' possibly work when both sides are hell-bent on wiping each other off the face of the globe? There has never been any true desire for peace on either the part of the Palestinians or the Israelis - and there probably never will be. Me, I'm getting sick and tired of the whole debacle.
Gaz, UK

The "roadmap" has to work and it has to work now. Letting this historic time and effort pass without results would be a crime itself.
Donald Metzner, USA

The road ahead will not be an easy one Michael Freilich, Belgium

I am optimistic for the future but realise the road ahead will not be an easy one. Hamas has already rejected the Roadmap. It is now up to the new Palestinian leadership to show it can succeed there where Arafat failed. Removing the threat of terrorism is the first and most important job for Abbas now. No peace negotiations will succeed until this has been solved. I am also optimistic on the statements from Sharon who seems genuinely ready to achieve peace with those he has fought all his life.
Michael Freilich, Belgium

No, the roadmap will never work. Too many generations of Israelis and Arabs have been born and bred in an atmosphere of hate and violence. The killing and revenge is a fundamental part of everyday life. The same is true for the likes of Northern Ireland.
Don, UK

The roadmap can succeed but only with the involvement of people of stature and goodwill. Israel made peace with Egypt thanks to Sadat. If Abbas can provide the leadership which Arafat never did then Israel will follow.
Neil, UK

The "roadmap" is essentially an American attempt to pacify the Arabs in the area and take the heat off America's only (real) ally, (Israel).
Peter, a Brit in Canada