President Bill Clinton is pushing for a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis before he leaves office in January.

Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat is under pressure from his followers to declare an independent Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem.

Israel's prime minister, under pressure from his own party to enter a peace agreement, is under intense pressure from others in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, not to yield one inch to the hostile nations around them.

Meanwhile, the pope has called for Jerusalem to be an "international city" with free and open access for all.

Jerusalem has become the focus of the debate. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have stalled mainly over this issue. Other territorial disputes can probably be settled given time, but the conflict over Jerusalem is seemingly insoluble. Israelis and Palestinians both lay claim to the same small area, the Old City of Jerusalem. The Temple Mount, of biblical importance to devout Jews, is also the site of two of the Islamic world's most important mosques, the Dome of the Rock, from which the prophet Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven upon his horse, and the El-Aqsa.

Christians also want unhindered access to their holy places in Jerusalem's Old City. Frequently cut off from them over the last 2,000 years, they do not want to return to a situation where they are denied access.

Calls for the internationalization of the city are likely to grow because it appears to be the only possible acceptable compromise. In theory, adherents of all three religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) would have equal access to all their respective holy sites. Under such a solution Jerusalem would probably be administered by international peacekeepers.

Prospects for a peace agreement may be more likely in the near future because of an intriguing combination of factors and personalities. Israel's left-leaning prime minister, Ehud Barak, wants to continue the peace process started by assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Mr. Barak's opposite number, Yasir Arafat, suffers from ill health and seems anxious to deliver on his promises before he dies. President Clinton is anxious to be remembered for solving the insoluble Mideast problem.

We may be headed for the time when two biblical prophecies could soon be fulfilled. Jesus Christ warned His disciples: "... When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near ... For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

The apostle Paul added these words about the situation before Christ's return: "For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

From these verses we can see that, when a peace agreement is reached, then will be the time to be most concerned about where events are taking us.

Watch Jerusalem. It's going to be a central focus for world leaders in the time ahead.