HERTZELIA, Israel -- Not so long ago, President Bush and his administration urged all parties to renew a peace initiative in my region.

I believe the peace can be won -- indeed, it may be near -- if we marshal the willpower to make it happen.

In this process, we must confront the challenges honestly. For example, in the summer of 2006, an Israeli Defense Force patrol inside Israeli territory was attacked from Lebanon. Seven soldiers were killed, and two abducted -- Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldvaser.

Israel could never accept a situation in which the government of Lebanon allows a non-governmental armed body to attack it. The fully justified response of the Israeli government to this act of violence came in the form of an attack on terror cells in southern Lebanon.

After 34 days of fighting, the United Nations offered a solution to both Israel and Lebanon: to mobilize the Lebanese armed forces in the southern region of Lebanon; and to assemble a special U.N. force that would also be positioned in the southern region of the country.

These two actions were designed to allow the government of Lebanon to reach a better level of control in its territory so acts of violence similar to the one that caused the war in the first place would not recur.

In the last seven years, continuous acts of aggression have been launched from the Gaza territory toward Israel. These acts significantly increased in volume after Israel 's withdrawal from Gaza in the summer of 2005.

The results of this situation: 10 killed, 1,000 injured, and a total of 3,000 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. No one disputed Israel 's right to retaliate in order to protect its citizens. Actions by Israel designed to eliminate the attacks from Gaza are understood.

Should Israel declare an official state of war against Gaza and invade its territory? I don 't think so -- Gaza is not a sovereign state and does not have an official government controlling it.

Therefore, Israel cannot blame the government of Gaza for this situation. Israel 's primary interest today is to transform the Gaza Strip and the West Bank territories into one joint country, or in case this is not possible into two sovereign countries.

Israel 's only concern should be which of these two entities will become sovereign as soon as possible, with clear borders and responsibility for the actions coming from their territory. Only after this transformation is completed will the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have the same interest of stopping all acts of aggression toward Israel.

A democratic country such as Israel has many obligations and limitations. A democratic country can deal with another country operating within the same clear international limitations and boundaries. However, it is much more difficult to deal with an abstract entity, one that is controlled by a different set-up every day, making new rules as it wishes.

It is in Israel 's best interest, as a law-abiding state with clear boundaries, to have a regulated state on the other side as well -- a state that has something to lose.

Once a sovereign Palestinian state is founded, Israel would be able to negotiate a new agreement with its controlling bodies. Only when there are clear boundaries acceptable to both parties would we be able to pose clear demands. And if we are then rejected, we would be able to respond accordingly.

We must change the Israeli perception as though a Palestinian state would only benefit the Palestinians. A Palestinian state is in the best interests of Israel -- both in times of peace, and when there is no other choice, in times of war!

Peace is near and we must not stop our efforts to advance along this important path.

is co-founder of the Geneva Initiative (www.geneva-accord.org), a joint Israeli-Palestinian effort that suggests a detailed model for a peace agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; avi@avishakedpost.com.

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