Earlier this year, it looked as if the planets had finally aligned and peace between the Palestinians and Israelis was actually possible.
Led by the dogged efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry, the two sides agreed to engage in peace talks, which in and of itself was a major victory simply because for years the two rivals refused to even speak to one another.
The negotiations continued for nine long months, with Kerry flying back and forth from Washington to the Middle East to relax tensions and hammer out the details of an elusive two-state solution.
Both sides expressed a willingness to make concessions, as Palestine agreed to delay their bid at internationally recognized statehood while Israel offered to release Palestinian prisoners. As time went on, Kerry appeared growingly confident and optimistic that a long-coveted peace deal was finally in reach.
For the first time in ages, it felt as though substantive progress was being made.
But nevertheless, the April 29th deadline for peace came and went without an agreement.
Many critics blamed Israel for blowing up the deal by continuing to build settlements on disputed territories. Others pointed the finger at Kerry, who received stiff backlash from the Jewish community after he said Israel was on the path to becoming an "apartheid state" if they did not come to peace with the Palestinians.
Both sides expressed a willingness to make concessions, as Palestine agreed to delay their bid at internationally recognized statehood while Israel offered to release Palestinian prisoners. As time went on, Kerry appeared growingly confident and optimistic that a long-coveted peace deal was finally in reach.
For the first time in ages, it felt as though substantive progress was being made.
But nevertheless, the April 29th deadline for peace came and went without an agreement.
Many critics blamed Israel for blowing up the deal by continuing to build settlements on disputed territories. Others pointed the finger at Kerry, who received stiff backlash from the Jewish community after he said Israel was on the path to becoming an "apartheid state" if they did not come to peace with the Palestinians.
However, despite the failure of diplomatic efforts, a spiritual case for peace was made that reignited hope, at least in the abstract. In an unprecedented show of solidarity, Pope Francis hosted Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Vatican to "pray for peace."
The trio planted a ceremonial olive tree together and shook hands, sending a strong message that peace was still possible, despite how improbable it may have felt at the time.
BACK TO REALITY
If peace seemed possible them, it's as good as dead now.
The defining event occurred in mid-June when three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and found murdered in a field in the small West Bank town of Hebron.
The three teens- Eyal Yifrach (19), Naftali Fraenkel (16) and Gilad Shaer (16)- were students at a religious school and had been missing for 18-days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the killings on Hamas, the Palestinian Militant group.
In response to the heinous murders, Israel launched an all out attack on the Gaza Strip. Rocket after rocket pounded Hamas strongholds, killing an unknown number of militants and civilians.
If that wasn't enough to stoke the flames, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was found burnt alive in a Jerusalem forest, a suspected "revenge killing" by Israelis in retaliation for the three teens killed weeks earlier.
ROCK BOTTOM
The latest episode of violence and retaliation is evidence that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has hit rock bottom. Both sides have abandoned any shot at peace, instead reverting back to the "eye for an eye" mentality of revenge that has plagued relations for decades.
Although noble and well-intentioned, diplomatic and spiritual appeals for peace made by Kerry and Pope Francis now seem naive in retrospect.
Whether we like to admit it or not, it was wishful thinking to assume that months of diplomatic negotiations and joint prayer sessions can cure generations of deeply engrained hatreds.
However, this isn't to say that such efforts aren't worthwhile or much-needed. They are.
It's just that, in the end, international diplomacy and religious goodwill can only do so much. In order to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, both sides must be committed to peace and have the will to see it through.
Until then, it looks as though the cycle of violence will continue, just as it has for decades.
But as we all know, the eye for an eye philosophy will do nothing to secure a long lasting peace.
It will only serve to make the Palestinians and Israelis blind.
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