established in Gaza and 90 percent of the West Bank, with Israel annexing its big settlement blocks. But, the talks collapsed over Jerusalem, which both Israel and Palestine want as their recognized capital. Palestine’s no intention of giving up the city has been well-conveyed in previous talks and actions taken by them in the past. Even if Israel agrees to meet ninety -nine percent of their needs, Palestine won’t settle unless Jerusalem is included in the deal and vise versa. Another negative element contributing to the difficulty to achieve peace is lack of strong leadership in these nations. The leaders of both sides don’t seem to have solid supporting systems from their own political circles. The Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, often seems to be confronted by other PLO members when it comes to negotiations with Israel. On the same token, Ehud Barak who’s facing another political election against Benjamin Natanyahu seems to have little space to maneuver. Elected with 56 percent of the popular vote but with only 26 seats in the Knesset, he was driven to form a coalition of right-wing religious parties that have now abandoned him. In particular of East Jerusalem issue, neither of their political leaders can move forward, knowing that both of them are bounded by their own people (Jews and Muslims) to keep the holy places under their control.Israel’s near-pariah status in the region has forced itself to become one of the military super powers in the world. Economically, it enjoys today a per-capita income of $ 18.000, placing it far ahead of countries surrounding it. However, unlike many realists’ contention, either its economic or military superiority doesn’t seem to be sufficient enough to resolve the conflict that is heavily based on ideology. Some are evening saying that Israelis weakened morale doesn’t back up its military and economic strength in putting an end to the ...
