by Askia Muhammad
White House Correspondent

THE WHITE HOUSE (FinalCall.com)�Forced by growing protests in the Middle East and around the world, and increasing dissension among Muslims, Christians and even Jews in this country, President George W. Bush signaled a renewed U.S. participation in the quest to end the spiraling cycle of violence and death in the Holy Land.

Just two days after the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan vowed that he would lead a peace-delegation to the region, Mr. Bush called on Israel to withdraw its military forces from Palestinian cities and cease all settlement activity in the occupied territories; and he announced that he was dispatching Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region to push for a political settlement.

�The storms of violence cannot go on. Enough is enough.� Mr. Bush said in a Rose Garden speech that also included his customary harsh criticism of besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.        

The speech came on the 34th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., after more than a week of brutal Israeli military responses to Passover and Easter Week suicide bombings in which dozens of Israelis were killed. It was a week that saw frantic White House meetings where administration sources admitted witnessing a �sea change� in the situation on the ground.

In the fluid situation of the Middle East, even Mr. Powell has lightened previous statements that he would not meet Mr. Arafat during his trip. He now says a meeting is possible.

Meanwhile, Spain�s foreign minister, Josep Pique, told reporters that the European Union would consider placing sanctions against Israel if it continues to  reject calls for a cease-fire in Palestinian territories and foreign ministers of the Arab League rebuked President Bush�s remarks on Palestinian �martyrs,� also called �suicide bombers.�

During a one-day meeting, the Arab ministers called on the Bush administration to act as a �fair mediator and to reconsider its bias to the Israeli side, an act that is encouraging Israel to continue its aggression and its military occupation of Arab lands.�

Reports of Israeli forces surrounding Chairman Arafat in a single building with no water or electricity in his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah; a siege of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Bethlehem; and sieges of Palestinian hospitals throughout the area and the prevention of ambulances and other medical personnel from rescuing wounded Arabs, �started to create conditions in other nations in the region, started to create conditions throughout the world that we thought were becoming dangerous to the point that the United States had to step in, play a leadership role, and act,� a senior administration official told reporters following the President�s remarks.

As tens of thousands of protestors marched in the streets of U.S., Arab allies  from Egypt and Bahrain, protesting this country�s policies, and anti-American tension increased in Jordan, another Arab ally, widespread anti-Israel sentiments surfaced in this country, including the participation of a growing number of American Jews.

Thousands protested Israel�s policies in marches in New York City and Chicago, more than 1,000 marched to the Israeli Embassy in Washington and another 50, mostly Jewish counter-demonstrators, picketed a pro-Israeli demonstration at the Palestinian Authority office in Washington April 4, and nearly two dozen protestors were arrested outside the State Department on April 5.

�One of the things to cause (Pres.) Bush to even mouth some words yesterday was clearly the feeling that what was going on in Palestine was spinning out of control, was spinning out of his ability or Israel�s ability to handle it,� the Rev. Graylan Hagler, pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church of Christ and a leader of Black Voices for Peace (BVP), told The Final Call.

�I want to see the end of this violence. I cried yesterday. I�m here today,� Mary Jane Owens, a 72-year-old White Catholic woman in a wheel-chair told The Final Call at the Israeli Embassy protest, which was organized by BVP.

�The situation involving the illegal occupation of Palestine and the humanitarian tragedy that�s taking place in the occupied territories is not an issue that is merely an Arab or Muslim issue. It is first of all a humanitarian issue, but more importantly, it is an issue that is of vital concern to every American,� said Mahdi Bray, national political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). �After all, it is our tax dollars that are providing the ammunition and our uneven policy that provides the political platform and cover for what the Israelis are doing in Palestine.

�Having grown up under apartheid, I see no difference in what is happening to the Palestinians than what took place in Soweto; Sharpeville; South Norfolk, Virginia; Greenville, Mississippi; it�s the same soup, different bowl,� said Mr. Bray, who welcomed the prospect that Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan might lead a peace delegation to the region. (See related story on page 3.)

�It would be a welcome thing to see Min. Farrakhan, not only because Min. Farrakhan�s voice resonates inside the Nation of Islam, it resonates also in the large African American community. What we�ve gone through in America, we have the moral authority. We are the moral experts in this era of dealing with oppression and oppressors. Because of our oppression and because of what we�ve gone through, we have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power,� Mr. Bray said.

The Rev. Hagler agreed that Min. Farrakhan�s intervention would help put the Palestinian struggle into easily recognized humanitarian terms. A Farrakhan trip �will draw the attention even more so of the Black community to that issue to see the relationship and the importance of dealing with that issue like we dealt with South Africa,� he said.

Min. Farrakhan promised to lead a delegation of Muslims, Christians and Hebrew Israelites to meet with Arab leaders, and provided that conditions allow, with Chairman Arafat. The Minister said he would also like to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel.

The timing of Secretary Powell�s trip and a possible trip by Min. Farrakhan is critical because there has been an �explosion of interest� in the more direct involvement by private citizens since the beginning of the 18-month-old �Intifada,� or Palestinian uprising, according to Jewish as well as Christian activists contacted by The Final Call.

�There needs to be a lot more people from the U.S. going to the area, so that they can have the kind of firsthand accounts that people can come back and talk about,� Medea Benjamin, a Jewish activist and organizer with Global Exchange said in an interview.

As Jewish peace groups in this country�including Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Women in Black, Not in My Name, and Break the Silence�get stronger and their voices get louder, groups like Global Exchange and the Quaker American Friends Services Committee (AFSC) have begun organizing meetings where Israeli peace activists are also telling their story in this country.

More than 1,000 Israeli Defense Force (IDF) personnel, officers as well as enlisted men, have refused to serve in combat in the occupied territories. They are called �Refuseniks.�

Their �message is that the root of the problem of terrorism and violence is the Israeli occupation and the occupation must end,� said Ms. Benjamin. �The numbers are growing of soldiers and reservists who refuse to participate in the occupation and the oppressive acts that go along with being an occupier. Their audience is really the Jewish community in Israel. Their message to us is: �Organize your government to put the pressure on Israel.� �

Without admitting it, however, the U.S. government is apparently feeling the pressure. Mr. Bush�s �Enough is enough� speech calling for an end to Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories was the first gesture and the Powell visit is its first high-level action.

�This Israeli government has said they support the Mitchell process and the Mitchell plan,� the senior administration official said.

�And the Mitchell plan, as one of its confidence-building measures, includes a stop to the settlement activity. There is no question but that, as we go forward into the Mitchell process, one of the early challenges will be for Israel to face the fact that the settlement activity has to stop. And I think the President made that clear in unmistakable terms a few moments ago.�

�I wish they wouldn�t use the tactic of suicide bombing,� said Hussein Ibish, spokesman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. �I don�t care for it, and I don�t think it�s particularly constructive, but one thing is for sure: it does extract pain on the Israeli society and it does get the attention of Ariel Sharon. I don�t think there�s anybody else, other than the Palestinian fighters or the American administration, who (Mr.) Sharon cares a damn about. I don�t think he pays attention to anybody else. Unfortunately, right now he does represent a consensus in Israeli society.�

Mr. Ibish insists that �the only way you can get a cease-fire to work is if you have a viable peace process to replace the war process.�