I love movies because they seem to simplify life. Nowhere is it more clear than on the big screen when a character's predicament begins to shift.

The Oslo Accords and its attendant peace process came into the world with a bang 22 years ago. This past week they exited with a sad whimper.

At this time of year exactly thirty years ago, a Palestinian militant named Abu al-Abbas sat behind his office desk in Tunis, laying the final touches on an operation scheduled for October 1985.

The enduring impasse between Israel and the Palestinians in the peace negotiations and their changing internal political dynamics has made it impossible for them to resolve the conflict on their own.

When two sides take political risks and strain to reach agreement, only to see negotiations fall apart, they don't go back to where they were before - they go back to a much angrier version of where they were before. It is a vital lesson to keep in mind this week as representatives from Iran and America meet.

There are so many stakeholders, not only in the Middle East but also in Europe and beyond, that would like to see an end to this madness in Gaza. The vital thing confronting us today is for the U.S. to put pressure on Israel to lift the siege of Gaza and seek a viable and realistic political solution.