These two communities have been fighting for thousands and thousands of years, but Israel and Palestine have returned optimism to the region.

They are talking peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to a document that will guide negotiations in peace talks to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Negotiations are hoped to be finished before 2009.

reported Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel is optimistic about these peace talks because of the trust between Olmert and Abbas, and because of the international support behind the peace talks.

This sounds encouraging but, with this situation, realism outweighs optimism.

These peace talks are a joke.

CNN.com also reported that Regev said Iran, Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants and Gaza-based Hamas militants would more than likely “torpedo” the peace talks.

Torpedo the peace talks is a polite way of describing what will happen. A violent onslaught in response to the peace talks is a more accurate foreshadowing of what will happen.

Furthermore, the peace talks will not address the pertinent issues.

On Tuesday, CNN.com released an article detailing what is in the document that is supposed to guide negotiations.

“The document does not contain specifics about contentious issues that divide the Israelis and Palestinians,” CNN.com reported.

The news medium reported President George Bush said the document is a promise to “propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence.”

These guidelines for peace talks between rival countries will not address the issues that divide them and promises peace.

What do these guidelines guarantee, again? Nothing.

It is making a promise, which is a glittering term that has no substance in this particular context.

And the peace talks will not even solve anything, because Israel and Palestine are not looking at the problems that divide them.

That optimism fades fast after sifting through the fluffy words of Bush, Olmert and Abbas.

No one even approves of Olmert.

In Time Magazine’s May 3 issue, Olmert’s approval rating was at three percent.

Abbas only controls half of Palestine because he is the head of the Fatah party, who control the West Bank. Hamas, a rival organization, control Gaza.

All of this proves the peace talks are a joke because, even if these two leaders can agree to peace, the citizens of these countries do not back their leaders.

It is a bleak situation that will only change when each country – leaders and citizens – collectively agree to peace.

Until then, there is nothing to be optimistic about Israel and Palestine’s peace talks.