The president’s visit comes after a particularly difficult and bloody year, in which the “family of bereaved” expanded into a huge number of innocent Israelis and Palestinians, made up of women and men, sons and daughters, parents and friends, who lost the most precious thing of all. Under normal times, such a visit would have instilled hope that something new might begin. But the reality of living in the shadow of a conflict to which we and our children are accustomed, is becoming established as a destiny, as a political burden that no one is trying to lift.

After all, in the outgoing Israeli government, we have witnessed the same as the past two decades – parties set aside their agenda for a settlement of the conflict in favor of a collective unification to bring about the replacement of the previous government. This established the perception that the conflict could wait. If this is not urgent for party leaders, why should it be for the President of the United States?