Peace in the birthplace of Jesus. After millennia of fighting, is such a thing even achievable?

To this day, the Holy Land remains perhaps the most hotly contested piece of territory in the Middle East, if not the world. From its Mediterranean Sea coastline to the Jordan River, with a rocky landscape in between, home to the Dead Sea — the lowest elevation on the face of the earth — a history of conflict has garnered more headlines through the years than the fact that Israel and the West Bank are home to myriad sacred and historic sites significant to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The current Israel-Hamas war puts that conflict into sharp relief.

It’s been almost five months since the Gaza Strip became a target of Israel’s air, sea and ground offensive launched in response to Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The surprise attack by more than 1,300 Hamas terrorists left more than 1,200 Israelis and other nationals dead, and about 250 others, including more than 30 children, were taken hostage and brought back into Gaza. During a brief cease-fire in November, 105 hostages were released; in February two others were rescued. Hamas also holds the remains of about 30 hostages who were either killed on Oct. 7 or died in their captivity.

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