Yet even with these concessions, the Palestinians wanted more. And so here we are today. For more than four months We have seen terrible violence, witnessed unimaginable human suffering, and have felt our blood boil with anger and our heads hang in sorrow. I can hear gunfire and shelling in the nearby towns of Beit Jala and Bethlehem - Palestinians firing on Jewish homes in Gilo and the IDF responding with tank fire to Beit Jala and Bethlehem. Ambulance sirens wail throughout the night here in Jerusalem.
Helicopters patrol the sky and soldiers with machine guns are a common sight on the street.
I sit in my apartment sipping tea and less than five miles away is a war zone. The air in Jerusalem makes one wiser. I wonder about that old saying sometimes. I have no doubt that I have aged considerably since arriving in Israel this past June. Trying to play what little part I can volunteering for Israeli human rights groups and working with Arab populations in need, I have seen things I never imagined I'd see in my life.