Every president we’ve had since 1948 has believed that peace in the Middle East, specifically, the conflict over the small strip of land that is Israel, could be achieved by diplomatic means.

At least, they’ve publicly spoken of peace deals and diplomacy. Unless they’re totally off their nut, I don’t see how they could actually believe that, no matter how much desire is there.

You’re not going to bring these two sides together when one side has a long-held belief that the other side not only shouldn’t be there, but should not exist, at all.

It’s not even a conflict that started in 1948, to be clear. This is a family feud that started long before.

People really need to get in those Bibles.

Genesis 16:12 (NIV), as the angel of the Lord is prophesying over the illegitimate son of Abraham and the handmaiden, Hagar: “This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

And the sons of Ishmael have been cutting up, ever since.

They’re not planning on being peaceful, now, just because the U.S. has a new president.

Case in point would be the Palestinian response to reports that the Trump administration has threatened to shutter the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, unless the Palestinians agree to come to the table for this season’s version of “peace talks.”

Their answer came in the form of a posted video from the senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who called the administration’s threats, “unacceptable,” and said that, in fact, they’d stop any communication with the Trump administration, if those offices were closed.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had determined a Palestinian call for the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis violates U.S. law, requiring the organization to close its Washington offices. The Trump administration has 90 days to determine whether the PLO’s Washington office will be allowed to remain open.

That’s 90 days to try and get these people to change their minds about decades of hate.

In the video, Erekat suggested that the current position of the U.S. is due to pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dr. Saeb Erekat on the American decision not to renew license of #PLO office in Washington. pic.twitter.com/pAsPKJ2sqS

— Palestine PLO-NAD (@nadplo) November 18, 2017

There should be nothing there that gives the illusion that if they were given everything they wanted, that they would ever agree to peace.