Slipping away:

For the first time, an Israeli leader and a Palestinian leader seem genuinely committed to peace. They set a deadline for a deal by year’s end. Yet the likelihood of achieving the two-state solution they have embraced diminishes with every rocket lobbed into Israel from Hamas-controlled Gaza and with every Israeli military strike or squeeze on civilian life in Gaza.

Since last Wednesday, at least 100 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed. On Sunday, the violence spilled over to the West Bank, as Palestinians there protested Israeli attacks on Gaza. A spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said contacts with Israel would be temporarily suspended. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has rightly decided to go forward with a visit to the region this week.

Egypt has sought to broker a possible cease-fire. Rice also must press Egypt to get serious about increasing military cooperation with Israel and developing a plan to stop Hamas from smuggling weapons and supplies into Gaza.

Other Arab states, like Saudi Arabia, which for years urged President Bush to get involved, and Qatar, also need to exert their influence. We have been told again and again that Rice considers a peace agreement her legacy. Time, and good will, is running out. — International Herald Tribune