Hope Springs Eternal?
“Salaam, shalom, and to peace” was U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s toast at the signing of the 1978 Camp David Accords. Newspapers around the world showed photos of a beaming Carter between Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
To demonstrate the warming relations between countries which had fought a war in each of the four previous decades, Mr. Begin invited Mr. Sadat to visit Israel. No Arab ruler had made an official visit since the modern state was declared in May 1948 by David Ben Gurion.
In November 1977, President Sadat’s motorcade wended its way up the Judean hills to Jerusalem. Egyptian and Israeli flags and cheering Israelis lined the roadsides. In 1978, Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Many wondered, Could peace really be possible at last?
The euphoria was short-lived. On October 6, 1981, President Sadat was assassinated during a televised military parade (ironically, celebrating the Egyptian army’s fight against Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War).
Sadat’s successor, Hosni Mubarak, learned from experience that a “warm peace” with Israel was not possible when the Muslim Brotherhood and other jihadists remained radically committed to the eradication of the world’s only Jewish state. A “cold peace” ensued.
Perhaps the most infamous of the jihadi factions founded in the last century is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which sprang up in 1964. In 1967, George Habash formed the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as a PLO faction. In 1968 three PFLP members conducted the first-ever terrorist hijacking of an airplane. El Al’s Rome-to-Tel Aviv flight was diverted to Algiers, where Israeli crew and passengers were held hostage for 40 days.
In 1969, Yasser Arafat became PLO chairman and the face of active resistance to Israel’s existence. In the span of the next 11 years, 15 Israeli embassies were attacked in cities as diverse as Ankara, Asuncion, Bangkok, Brussels, Buenos Aires, London, Malta, and Washington, DC.
In February 1970, Swissair Flight 330 was blown up on the way to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on board. Perhaps the most notorious of the PLO’s multiplied terror attacks was at the Munich Olympics in September 1972. Black September, a PLO faction, massacred 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.
The continuing drumbeat of violence and terror against Israelis – and indeed, against Jewish people in the diaspora as well – made the prospect for a peace in 1977 even more ardently desired. The murder of Sadat the peacemaker was a splash of frigid water on those warm hopes. Tragically, some 200 Israeli civilians and 150 soldiers were killed in terror attacks in the uprising which came to be known as the First Intifada (1987-1993).
But hope springs eternal….
U.S. President Bill Clinton was determined to make Middle East peace his lasting legacy. In September 1993, newspapers again trumpeted “Shalom, Salaam, Peace” as the Oslo Accords were inked; the Palestinian Authority was instituted to ensure stability in the West Bank and Gaza. The iconic September 13, 1993 photo taken on the White House lawn depicts Mr. Clinton encouraging the reluctant handshake by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of the keffiyah-clad terrorist Yasser Arafat.
Many wondered, Could Oslo’s Declaration of Principles be the starting point for real peace?
Alas, in November 1995, for the only time in Israel’s history a Prime Minister was assassinated. As with Anwar Sadat, it wasn’t a foreign enemy committing the murder; an extremist right-wing Israeli pulled the trigger, ending the life of Yitzhak Rabin and throwing frigid water on the peace process.
But hope springs eternal….
Toward the end of his second term, President Clinton convened the Camp David Summit in July 2000. Once again Yasser Arafat was at the table. Prime Minister Ehud Barak, elected in 1999 on a “peace platform,” represented Israel. But no amount of cajoling and arm-twisting by the American president could get agreement on key issues: the “right of return” of the (then) almost four million Palestinian refugees;[1] the extent of Israel’s control in the West Bank; and most sensitively, sovereignty over Jerusalem. In one of his last conversations with Arafat, Clinton said, “Mr. Chairman, I am not a great man. I am a failure, and you have made me one.”[2]
A quarter century of history has transpired since 2000. From 2000-2005 Hamas and Islamic Jihad suicide bombers killed over 1,000 Israelis in the Second Intifada. As Hamas multiplied rockets, Israel’s Iron Dome was increasingly put to work defending its cities. From 2000-2023 about 20,000 rockets were fired from Gaza; an additional 4,100 rained down from Hezbollah in Lebanon, causing thousands to be displaced from their homes.
Then came the fateful day of October 7, 2023 with the unspeakably horrific massacre of 1,200 in southern Israel and the kidnapping of another 250.
For two long years, the IDF sought to free the captives amidst the tumult of internal political divisions and a tsunami of antisemitism around the globe. For two long years, families of the hostages anxiously awaited news of the fate of their loved ones. Alive or dead? Fed or starved? Tormented or about to be freed?
At last came jubilation! On October 14, 2025, our television screens overflowed with images of rejoicing. The 20 living captives, released from isolation, deprivation, and unspeakable torture in Hamas tunnels, fell into the loving arms of wives, children, and parents. The streets of cities all over Israel were thronged in joyful celebration. Hostage Square in Tel Aviv was renamed Free Square.
For the first time in Israel’s history, an American president addressed members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. President Donald Trump opened with “We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope, of renewed faith.”
Acknowledgment of the release of the hostages brought the first in a series of rounds of applause and standing ovations. Basking in the triumph of the moment, Mr. Trump expanded the scope of his vision:
After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace; a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.
This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death, and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God.
It's the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region.
I believe that so strongly. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.
How many now wonder, After generations of enmity and bloodshed, could peace really be possible at last?
Whatever one’s political views, surely most well-meaning people would be desirous of living in a peaceful world. Trump trumpeted this as “the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better” promising the start of “the golden age of the Middle East.”
The Knesset speech was followed by the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit. Unlike the Camp David and Oslo Accords featuring three leaders, the gathering in the Egyptian Sinai included an impressive array. Joining Trump and host Egyptian President el-Sisi were 10 heads of other Muslim countries; nine European heads of state plus the European Council president; Canadian Prime Minister Carney, Secretaries-General of the United Nations and League of Arab States, and Mahmoud Abbas (head of the Palestinian Authority – and Chairman of the PLO). India, Japan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also sent representatives.[3]
The “Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity”[4] was signed by four “guarantors”: Donald Trump (USA), Abdel el-Sisi (Egypt), Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Qatar), and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey). Here is some of the text:
We support and stand behind President Trump’s sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring lasting peace to the Middle East. Together, we will implement this agreement in a manner that ensures peace, security, stability, and opportunity for all peoples of the region, including both Palestinians and Israelis….
We are united in our determination to dismantle extremism and radicalization in all its forms. No society can flourish when violence and racism is normalized, or when radical ideologies threaten the fabric of civil life. We commit to addressing the conditions that enable extremism and to promoting education, opportunity, and mutual respect as foundations for lasting peace….
In this spirit, we welcome the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip, as well as the friendly and mutually beneficial relationship between Israel and its regional neighbors. We pledge to work collectively to implement and sustain this legacy, building institutional foundations upon which future generations may thrive together in peace.
We commit ourselves to a future of enduring peace.
Who could fault the desire to ensure “lasting peace,” “comprehensive and durable peace,” “enduring peace”?
Hope may spring eternal – but the Eternal has already spoken. Wars and rumors of war will increase (Matthew 24:4-8) until the Antichrist signs a covenant promising peace. When that contract is broken, Israel again will be in the crosshairs; God’s wrath will be poured out on her enemies (Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 6-19). When Jerusalem’s defeat seems imminent, Messiah returns to rescue His people (Zechariah 12, 14). The Prince of Peace will set up the Kingdom that will not pass away (e.g., Daniel 2:44-45).
So, even as we rejoice in the release of the hostages, a cold dash of reality is needed. As promising as the prospect of cessation of hostilities may appear, the spiritual battle continues. Satan has not (yet) vacated his position as god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). The demonic spirit that fuels hatred of the Jewish people is not diminished (Revelation 12). The jihadis in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen have yet to be disarmed. Iran’s ayatollahs remain committed to acquiring a nuclear weapon and the destruction of Israel.
“Let him not boast who puts on his armor as he who takes it off” (1 Kings 20:11), Scripture admonishes. We are deeply grateful for the ceasefire and repatriation of the hostages. We may have hope that the agreements now in place will have a longer shelf-life than those which preceded it. But we are not so naïve as to think that leopards change their spots or the spiritual battles will soon cease.
Yes, our hope does spring eternal – because we have the sure promises of a faithful God who changes not. We’ve read the end of the story; it’s a great one! But until Messiah returns, we may expect troublesome times yet ahead – for the Middle East and our world.
So proclaiming our message of a sure hope through the gospel is still a priority, even as we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
Written by Wes, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
Thank you for praying for the release of the hostages! Please continue to pray for the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing of all who have been affected by the war.
Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the success of Middle East peace efforts in the short term? Why?
Interested in what Scripture has to say about Israel’s future? Check The TŌV Podcast for episodes on Israel’s future battles and eventual peace.
Endnotes:
[1] In 1950, Palestinian refugees numbered about 750,000. Today, almost six million are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which deals exclusively with Palestinian refugees in camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria; Gaza and the West Bank populations also are included. See https://www.unrwa.org/palestine-refugees.
[2] Quoted from Bill Clinton’s 2004 autobiography, My Life, pgs. 759-760.
[3] Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei and Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu both declined invitations to attend (for very different reasons).
[4] https://eg.usembassy.gov/the-trump-declaration-for-enduring-peace-and-prosperity.