For a people who must count on heavy American support to realize their statehood, the Palestinians have done themselves no historical favors in pursuit of this cherished goal. First, they chose to back the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) during World War II. Then they compounded this error by choosing Soviet Russia during the Cold War and finally by supporting Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War. But they committed the granddaddy of all their errors of judgment in 2000. As aptly described by Charles Krauthammer, "The most dovish Israeli government in history presented Arafat with the most generous offer the Palestinians have gotten from anyone–a Palestinian state on 97 percent of the West Bank with its capital in a shared Jerusalem" (The Wall Street Journal Europe, May 12). Failure to accept the Israeli proposal has been followed by a bloodbath lasting 31 months. Now the United States is once again offering and vigorously trying to implement a road map to peace between the Palestinians and the state of Israel. Realistically, even with the full weight of the U.S. presidency and high-level American diplomatic efforts, the obstacles may prove very steep if not insurmountable. The primary sticking points include the continuing use of terror (e.g., Palestinian suicide bombers), the status of Jerusalem (Palestinians want Arab East Jerusalem as their capital), political borders (the Palestinians want Israel to retreat behind their pre-1967 war borders), the presence of 145 Israeli settlements with 200,000 settlers on the West Bank and in Gaza, plus the dilemma of four million Palestinian refugees who want residence in Israel. Even if some sort of temporary peace is ultimately achieved by massive American diplomatic and economic pressure, the Bible clearly tells us that it simply will not endure. The Hebrew prophet Zechariah prophetically describes end-time Jerusalem as "a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples" and "a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces" (Zechariah 12:2-3). To understand the ultimate outcome and how peace will finally be established in the Middle East, request your free subscription to The Good News magazine. It will explain how only the second coming of Jesus Christ will bring peace to this war-torn area that has known so little peace.