Editorial
Nothing can obscure the fact that the good faith built up in the region so laboriously (and in spite of many ups and downs) during the Rabin and Peres governments, has been dissipated by the govermment of Binyamin Netanyahu since it took office in June 1996.
Under the former government, Israel signed the Oslo accords, handed over most of the Gaza Strip and nine Palestinian cities to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and enabled the first free elections ever to take place in Palestinian territory. It also made peace with Jordan and began to develop relations elsewhere in the Arab world, such as the Gulf States and the Maghreb countries. A new atmosphere was developing in the region.
Following Netanyahu's taking over, relations, not only with the PNA, but also with Egypt and Jordan, began to deteriorate, as the Arab world once again regarded Israel with hostility and suspicion. No wonder that in such circumstances a question mark hangs over the peace process and one sees
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