The speed with which the negotiators of the Palestine Liberation Organization and of Israel got back to the peace table after the provocation of a mass murder tells us how determined the principals on both sides are to liberate the Middle East from anger.

It says that sane people are still in the saddle. The fact Israel and the PLO were able to sit down together again Thursday and make significant progress only a month after the murder of Arab worshipers by a deranged Israeli means that leaders on both sides want peace so much they will let virtually nothing interfere. People drunk on their own relegion wil

l not be allowed to sabotage peace by the transparent terrorist tactic of violence.

Equally encouraging, Israel has changed its mind and agreed to international observers in occupied lands. The Palestinians no longer need depend on the Israeli army alone to watch for attacks on their people by Israeli settlers.

Lesser provocations than the recent mass murder have plunged whole regions into war. The fact the PLO leaders were able to put the murders in perspective and recognize them as unrepresentative of Israel has made it possible for the peace process to recover so quickly.

The leaders of Israel also deserve credit for that because they so quickly denounced the murders and sadly apologized for them in unvarnished terms.

The quick return to the negotiating table is a development that gives hope the process can survive the inevitable next attempts by other extremists on both sides to po

ison peace.

Good for the PLO and good for the Israeli government. B.H.