DougR: the caveat "(even if only temporarily)" in your question says it all. And unfortunately, when the bombings resume, they will be driven by an even greater sense of resentment on the Palestinian side, and even more innocent people - Israelis but probably also US citizens - will be killed. I think McGrath of Harlow is unfortunately right in his pessimistic scenario. The overwhelming imbalance in military means is one of the things which drive the Palestinians to such desperate remedies. That imbalance is due to unconditional US support for Israel based on geopolitical attitudes which are simply neocolonial, compounded by Bush's childish manicheanism, and the US's close identification with Israel (and paradoxically with the repressive, undemocratic Saudi régime) makes the an ever-more-likely target for terrorist attacks.

Just like Northern Ireland, it's a war which neither side can win. Even if Sharon's forces did the unthinkable and massacred everyone in the camps which they recently invaded, there are enough Palestinians scattered throughout the Middle East and the wider world to continue the fight.

The solution has to come sooner or later through negotiation, recognition of wrongs done on both sides, a commitment to non-violent means for the future and international guarantees and a presence on the ground to secure the peace. There was a UN force in Southern Lebanon when Sharon launched his all-out attack without Israeli government approval, but because of gross underfunding (inter alia due to the US's shameful refusal to pay its UN dues) that force was scarcely even able to record the serial markings of all the vehicles transporting the invading Israeli force, never mind do anything to deter it.

Peace has come about not just in Northern Ireland but in South Africa and elsewhere. Since people are going to end up talking to each other, the sooner they do so and the fewer people who get killed in the meantime the better.

One of the differences between the US's role in the Middle East and its role in Northern Ireland was precisely the fact that the US had no selfish strategic interest in NI. Thanks to a long-term diplomatic effort by the Irish government and the support of Jean Kennedy Smith, instinctive Irish-American diaspora support for "the armed struggle" was redirected towards support for a negotiated political solution and renunciation of violence. It can be done. It requires honesty, objectivity, boundless patience and perseverance. In the absence of adequately constituted and funded international institutions, it also helps if you have someone intelligent in the Oval Office.