Let wither the bitter fruits of sanctimony

How refreshing to begin with a more reasonable timeline. And two partners that look to be genuinely committed to peace.

Israelis, Palestinians Agree to Second Round of Talks

"In an early sign of promise, Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged Thursday in a cordial first round of talks to keep meeting at regular intervals, aiming to nail down a framework for overcoming deep disputes and achieving lasting peace within a year."

The genuine commitment is what will either make or break this and every round.

The bottom line in this process has always been:

Either Palestinians and Israelis want peace and are more committed to ending senseless deaths than leveraging for concessions or not.

Sadly, for all the lives lost, this is the only thing that ever mattered anyway. And the only thing most future Palestinians and Israelis will ever really remember.

How tragic all those who have died in the name of that pride. How sad that so many in the West and the Middle East have contributed to those deaths by supporting the leveraging.

How hopeful that we may, perhaps, finally let wither the bitter fruits of that sanctimony.

Making the peace

"I didn't come here to make an argument. I came here today to make peace. I didn't come here today to play a blame game where even the winners lose. Everybody loses if there's no peace. I came here to achieve a peace that will bring a lasting benefit to us all. I didn't come here to find excuses or to make them. I came here to find solutions."

Netanyahu: "Our Goal Is To Forge A Secure And Durable Peace Between Israelis And Palestinians"

That's what it looks like to be responsible. A peace agreement will happen when all parties make this commitment. It will not happen with any of us, including those making their observations public, dropping that ball.

Make peace. Stop making excuses. And if you can't, be prepared to not be taken seriously until we get there.

That's what leadership looks like in this region.

Ignore the whining. Commit to peace. Fulfill the agreements to establish security for both Palestinians and Israelis. Build a commitment to peace within populations over time.

And ignore the naysayers. Including the ones killing civilians. And capture or kill those folks, in the meantime.

Everything else is political theater.

Thanks for your opinion to the contrary.

Now we have a peace to establish.