Preparations for the Middle East peace conference, planned to be held in Annapolis, MD, sometime in mid-November, are in full swing. Prime Minister Olmert of Israel and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) have held several private meetings to agree on principles. Negotiators from both sides have been working on a joint document that they could each agree to at the summit.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made several trips to the region meeting Olmert and key Arab leaders in a scaled down imitation of Henry Kissinger in his heyday. On her last visit earlier this month, in addition to political leaders, she met with religious and civic leaders.

Such meetings are important. These are the people who have to be convinced that a peace process leading to a two-state solution is possible and that they should speak out for it. In that way, a constituency for peace can be created.

It might seem that peace between Israel and the Palestinians is in everybody's interests. Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way. For elements of the settler movement Eretz Israel, Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River has been promised by God and no mere politicians can alter that. A peace process is a betrayal of God's promise and that is why Yitzhak Rabin lost his life.

For Hamas the argument is the same - in reverse. Palestine from the Jordan to the sea is destined to be Muslim land and there can be no compromise on the point.

And then there are those who do not oppose a settlement in principle, but fear that an actual agreement will short-change them on security or on justice.

To date, the rejectionists on both sides have exercised an effective veto on any agreement. The late Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat was roundly criticized by the Bill Clinton administration and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak for rejecting the terms hashed out at Wye River. It is significant that one of the reasons Arafat gave for his stance was fear for his life.

Devising reasonable formulae for peace on the key issues - borders and settlements, refugees, Jerusalem - has never been the problem. Several can be pulled out of the files from past negotiations. But for a peace agreement to become a real political possibility, the leaders on both sides need the vocal support of a majority of their people.

Polls show that such support is there in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. Civil society organizations such as One Voice and the Universal Peace Federation's Middle East Peace Initiative have worked to cultivate it at the grass roots level.

The task, now, is to give public expression to that support. It is one fraught with difficulties and danger in the current circumstances. One Voice which operates in both Israel and Palestine has gathered 600,000 signatures from Israelis and Palestinians supporting negotiations for a two-state solution.

But rallies planned for Jericho and Tel Aviv October 18 had to be postponed after extremists spread rumors that One Voice Palestine would give away Palestinian rights, and threatened performers scheduled to appear at the Jericho rally.

The struggle in the trenches of public opinion continues. It is as important to the prospects for peace as the discussions among the political leaders.