I always find it amusing that Israel is invariably considered the main problem in any negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA/PLO; and any other negotiations, for that matter). In spite of the fact that the PA/PLO 
For over 3,500 years Israel has stood strong against its enemies.
openly supports terrorism against Israel, the world seems to think the holdup in the peace process is all Israel's fault. And I guess in a way they're correct.
For over 3,500 years Israel has stood strong against its enemies, and for 2,000 years it has been determined to return to the land promised to it by G-d Himself. Israel has refused to disappear within the sands of time, like so many of its sworn enemies.
Yet, for reasons beyond comprehension, in recent years the government of Israel has dedicated itself to negotiating with a group of people sworn to destroy the Jewish State. It has given up portions of that land that so many fought hard and died for. In spite of that fact, when the negotiations aren't moving fast enough, Israel is usually the one to be blamed. Although the PA/PLO is also taken to task, Israel is generally seen as being more stubborn.
Now, it seems that the European Union (EU) doesn't even care about that demand anymore. In a recent news report, Arutz Sheva describes a speech given by European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering in which he states that "the two outstanding issues to be resolved in the Middle East conflict" are building in Judea and Samaria and IDF (Israel Defense Force) checkpoints in that area.
Well, I, for one, am very pleased. I thought this process was going to be long and drawn out. If that is all that's left, then it should be very simple, right? Israel just needs to stop building homes for its residents to live in. (I'm not sure where they will live but for the sake of peace, perhaps they can make the sacrifice.) In addition, the IDF can remove the checkpoints, because they only seem to be preventing Israel's peace partner - the PA/PLO - from visiting its Jewish friends.
Unfortunately, that's not the way it is at all. The checkpoints are there to protect Israel from the terrorists that its "peace partner" sends to murder Jewish residents of Israel (by "Israel", I am including Judea and Samaria, as it should be). The world cries out that the checkpoints are causing grave economic conditions in the Arab-occupied territories, but that is only due to the fact that the PA/PLO condones, even encourages, terrorism against Jews. It has nothing to do with the IDF. It's only a result of the problem caused by the PA/PLO. Would the United States open its borders with Mexico to let the drug cartels in? No, of course not. That would be ridiculous. So why, then, does the world demand that Israel do the same thing?
It's also ridiculous to think that building homes for people to live in is an impediment to peace. This argument has
Would the United States open its borders with Mexico to let the drug cartels in?
gone on for decades and still doesn't make any sense. Jimmy Carter himself, one of the leading anti-Semites of our day, created an organization for building homes for people who need them. Yet, he also complains about Israel trying to provide homes for its people. Why doesn't anyone say the same thing to the United States, which did actually build on someone else's land? Israel has every right to build. It only became important to the Arabs - just like Jerusalem - when Israel wanted it.
Israel sits at the crossroads of the world. From its vantage point, the nations see economic riches and military defense installations. Not necessarily in the State itself, but also all around it. Israel has been used by the US as its "eyes and ears" in the Middle East since its inception 60 years ago. Now, since placing troops in Iraq, it feels it doesn't need Israel and so can toss it to the wolves (i.e., terrorists).
Israel needs to stand and be the sovereign nation that it is. It needs a Torah-based government and righteous men to lead it. I can see the signs of that happening all around the nation and it's exciting. The future of Israel looks bright, you just need to see it from the proper perspective.