The Israelis, especially under Barak, have made concession after concession. Saudi Arabia is a bosom pal of ours. I have always believed that the quicker Israel gets back to its pre-1967 borders the better. But Jerusalem is a special case. It is the very heart of the Jewish homeland, the capital not just of a sovereign state but of a religious creed.
Someone has to compromise.
Barak, to his political peril, did. Arafat, to his political benefit, did not. In his memoir, Henry Kissinger recounts his 1973 negotiations with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's national security adviser, Mohammed Hafiz Ismail. Not much has changed since then. It would mean jobs for Palestinians.