When the peoples of the Middle East have acknowledged God's just claim upon their submission to Jesus, the way will be opened for them to achieve peace with each other. In the meanwhile, political negotiations can produce at best a temporary, superficial peace. True justice and lasting peace, however, will not come to the Middle East until the Messiah reigns.

- Humanistic political solutions producing temporary superficial peace.

- True justice and lasting peace when the Messiah begins to reign.

I believe the Bible speaks much more of the latter. Totally reliable prophecy I think should guide us more than placing our hope in that which will produce only temporary results. And Israel's Islamic enemies and Palestinian refugees have been offered a state since 1948 if they would acknowledge Israel's right to exist. So far they have turned the numerous offers down.

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David Winter

But the fact of the matter right now is that Messiah is not reigning in a physical sense.

Your solution for right now seems to be do nothing. The alternative to that is to do something. The latter makes more sense to me.

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Todd

They have offered a homeland state to the Palestinian refugees (which none of the Arab nations were willing to take in) since 1948. Will they accept this "deal" or balk at it also? Kudos I guess for trying but the future is ever before us NOW because of what prophecy has told us beforehand. President Trump and the leaders of Israel I assume remain for the most part prophetically illiterate as do large sections of the church. Many are familiar with prophecies already fulfilled in the history of Israel and the life of Jesus but many are basically unclear regarding the future which is laid out in prophecy. The prophesied future is shaping the present rather than present activities forming the future. Most treaties so far regarding this issue have been based on humanism and earthly sentiments instead of utilizing the divine perspective. More peace tomorrow would be good but it always has to be looked at as temporary and in the end something that will not work. Does President Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu think they can bring enough peace to this earth so as to navigate around or avoid the way Jesus described the end of this present age? Both have probably never looked into with any detail what Jesus said.

And I have prayed for the Palestinians more than a little. They are caught up in something bigger than them that transcends the viewpoints of their own beliefs and leaders. This controversy will not be solved by human efforts and will continue to grow as the hot potato of international politics.

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David Winter

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he is cutting security ties with Israel and the U.S. on Saturday, in reaction to a U.S.-brokered peace plan that immediately met with furious objections from the Palestinians.

Abbas said he told Israel and the U.S. that “there will be no relations with them, including the security ties" following the deal that Palestinians say heavily favors the Israelis. He also said he will refuse to take President Trump’s phone calls “because I know that he would use that to say he consulted with us.”

“I will never accept this solution," Abbas said. “I will not have it recorded in my history that I have sold Jerusalem."

The furious reaction by Abbas came during a speech at an Arab League meeting in Cairo, Egypt that denounced the plan -- and poured cold water on the plan’s chances.

The plan was unveiled by President Trump on Tuesday and calls for a two-state solution -- with the creation of a future state of Palestine in Gaza, parts of the West Bank and neighborhoods on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The White House has called it “the most serious, realistic, and detailed plan ever presented, one that could make Israelis, Palestinians, and the region safer and more prosperous.”

“If the Palestinians have concerns with this Vision, they should bring them forth in the context of good-faith negotiations with the Israelis and help make progress for the region,” it said.

The plan would require the Palestinians to meet certain benchmarks -- rooting out terrorism, stopping "pay to slay," implementing steps toward free speech and political reforms. It also calls for the creation of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and for more than doubling the amount of territory the Palestinians control.

The plan also includes land swaps, a demilitarized Palestinian state, Israeli power over security as well as a demand for Israel to halt the construction of any new settlements. It also would abolish the “right of return” for Palestinians into Israel.

Controversially for Palestinians, it would allow Israel to annex settlements in the West Bank, which the Palestinians have long contended to be illegal. Critics also say that Israel's control over borders, airspace, and security means that Palestinian statehood would lose its meaning.

But Abbas said the Palestinians wouldn’t accept the U.S. as the sole mediator, instead, saying they want to go to the world and other regional organizations such as the U.N. Security Council.

The speech came after Palestinian militants fired three rockets into Israel, triggering airstrikes from Israel on militant targets in Gaza in response.

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David Winter