Israel & Palestine Promise 9 Months Of Peace Talks

With Secretary of State John Kerry brokering peace talks, the ever-headbutting regions of Israel and Palestine have agreed to once again try and compromise. This time, they've got a clear goal and timeframe in mind: in nine months, they announced Tuesday, Palestine will finally become an independent state of its own.

Nine months. As in, how long it takes to grow a baby. Sounds about right.

Both parties have agreed that, regardless of what goes down during talks, they won't opt out for nine months. Secretary of State Kerry, who's been pushing for this for no less than five years, will oversee the talks and step in when things get nasty and/or hit a standstill.

Kerry's long been warning that the conflict needs to be resolved now more than ever, especially in light of the constantly-increasing Jewish settlers along the West Bank:

I can guarantee you that am committed to this, because I believe the window for a two-state solution is shutting. I think we have some period of time a year, a year and a half, to two years or its over.

So there’s an urgency to this in my mind, and I intend, on behalf of the President’s instructions, to honor that urgency and see what we can do to move forward.

The two-state solution would establish Palestine as independent from Israel, though agreeing on that fact alone wouldn't be enough. Divisions are deep between the two regions, and previous attempts at peace talks have ended abruptly because neither side would back down.

If both regions can agree on the borders of a Palestinian state; decide conclusively whether establish a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem; and reach an agreement on Palestinian's claims of their homes being in now-Israeli territory — then Kerry might succeed in achieving peace in the region.

"We cannot pass along to another generation the responsibility for ending a conflict that is in our power to resolve in our time," said Kerry. "We should not leave it to them. They should not be expected to bear the pain of continued conflict or perpetual war."