The Economist on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process

Have more time and effort ever been devoted to peace to so little effect?  America began overseeing talks between the Israelis and Palestinians three decades ago.  But the Holy Land remains contested by two peoples who cannot bring themselves to live together.  The fighting in May that left 242 Palestinians and ten Israelis dead accomplished nothing except to clear the field for the next round of fighting. 

The peace process set up in the Oslo accords in 1993 aims to create two states that agree to disagree—using land swaps, security guarantees, a deal to share Jerusalem and a limited “right of return” for Palestinians.  Israel’s prize was to be a thriving democracy and a sanctuary for Jews; for Palestinians it was the promise of self-rule.  At times, peace has been tantalisingly close, only to recede again amid mutual recrimination.

~ "Two states or one? The peace process has been an obstacle to progress," The Economist, May 27, 2021