Peace Treaty

The Southern California Rapid Transit District board gave preliminary approval Thursday to the outline of a possible peace treaty with its longstanding rival, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. The plan, which will have to overcome considerable opposition within both agencies to win final approval, calls for a new supercommittee of the two transit boards to be empowered to resolve a series of running disputes.

Daude Sherrills, one of the architects of the 1992 Watts gang peace treaty, was released from jail Friday after his arrest for battery on a police officer during a ruckus at the Jordan Downs public housing project sparked when a woman got a parking ticket. The Wednesday afternoon incident began when a woman, Tasha Barrett, loudly objected to getting a ticket for illegally parking her car on the front lawn of her apartment building, residents and police said.

In the fall of 1986, a 17-year-old youth who called himself Do-Man--"because," an acquaintance recalled, "he said he was a man who does things"--drafted a peace treaty in a heartfelt attempt to stop gang killings in his South-Central Los Angeles neighborhood. Lee Johnson received a moment's fame for his effort, but little more. Today, the killing continues unabated, and Johnson's body lies in a funeral home, his mother unable to pay for his funeral.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Wednesday that King Hussein of Jordan has come to a "strategic decision" to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state but that some key elements have not yet been agreed upon despite intensive negotiations. "I don't know what's holding him up," Peres said of the king. "There are still dozens of subjects that must be clarified and agreed upon, but I think strategically the king has decided."

More than a year ago, guided by the conviction that Israel would rather be criticized than eulogized, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir decided to cut the solemn diplomatic nonsense. The diplomatic course offered to Israel was a blind alley in a dark neighborhood, and we considered it both futile and risky. It is widely accepted now that Israel was correct in insisting that certain fundamentals be preserved.

Students at Grant High School in the San Fernando Valley put their commitment to racial harmony in writing Thursday, formally signing a peace treaty before an audience of classmates, administrators and politicians. On hand to encourage them were Rep. Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills) and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

A senior Israeli official warned Monday that time is fast running out to conclude a peace treaty with Syria--and that with it will go the possibility of a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East conflict.

Israel and Jordan, accelerating the search for peace in the Middle East, agreed Monday on a draft treaty that settles their border disputes, shares scarce water resources and ensures the security of both. When the treaty is signed next week and ratified, Israel will be at peace with two of its Arab neighbors, Jordan and Egypt, and strongly pursuing negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians in a sustained effort to bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to an end within the coming year.

Israel and Jordan drew 46 years of suspicion and hostility to a close Monday as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein, in a declaration signed on the White House lawn, pledged to "bring an end to bloodshed and sorrow." In a ceremony that President Clinton said marks "a new chapter in the march of hope over despair," the Israeli and Jordanian leaders promised to resolve disputes peacefully and vowed not to "threaten the other by use of force, weapons or any other means."

CAIRO - The Gaza conflict has pressured Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on many fronts: Each rocket Hamas fired into Israel has been a test of Morsi's loyalty. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been gauging how much damage he can inflict on Hamas before Morsi responds with more than public statements and diplomacy. And the United States and the West, the source of billions of dollars in aid and possible investment that Egypt desperately needs, are watching to see whether the Egyptian president emerges as a formidable and trusted regional voice.