The Middle East is becoming an ever worsening storm. After the initial breeze of the Arab Spring, the violent winds of insurrection and uprising have driven much of the region into a state of mass bloodshed. Yet, in the midst of the fray, the United States is working to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The peace process is a storm by itself, whipped up long before the Arab Spring. Adding one storm to another leaves only the smallest glimmer of hope for a successful negotiation.

The peace talks, which remained stalled throughout U.S. President Barack Obama’s first term in office, restarted after some aggressive pushing and shuttle diplomacy from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. While talks have collapsed every time since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the U.S. has remained determined to force a negotiation in Israel. America’s intentions may appear sincere, but the timing borders on ridiculous.

During his first term, President Obama did little to restart negotiations, but now that the region has descended into chaos, the U.S. has started to call the players back to the negotiating table. Peace was nigh on impossible in the early ’90s, a time similar to Obama’s first term. But today, the region is even more unstable, making negotiations even more likely to fail.

Without even having to look too closely at the region, plenty of issues work against a peace deal. Consider the geopolitical map. To Israel’s north, Hezbollah (an Iranian-sponsored Lebanese organization) is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad in Syria against a variety of other Israel-hating terrorist groups. The potential for conflict to reach Syria’s border with Israel is high, as is the chance of further conflict with Hezbollah at the Lebanese border. With Arabs right on Israel’s doorstep in the West Bank, and violence on the rise in neighboring Arabic countries, now seems like a terrible time to negotiate national lines for a Palestinian state.

Next there is the storm brewing in Egypt. The Egyptians recently stationed a large number of troops in the Sinai—and the country is currently in the midst of massive political and social upheaval. With Egypt possessing one of the largest militaries in the region, instability in that country means uneasiness in Israel.

Just west of Egypt, Libya is experiencing bombings and increased terrorist activity on a regular basis. It is now a hotbed for terrorism.

On Israel’s east, Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a beating from the winds of building Arab storms. Fighting among Sunnis and Shiites has left both nations in a situation as violent as before the U.S. invasions. And Iran is becoming increasingly involved. Does any of this foster ideas of peace with Israel?

In the midst of all this, the U.S. is withdrawing its Middle East forces, one of the few bulwarks that kept the region at a certain level of stability over the last decade. With the withdrawal, sectarian violence and volatility inevitably wlll increase, undoubtedly putting Israel on edge. The hope of meaningful negotiations move even further out of reach.

Increasing instability surrounds Israel. While it might seem contained to the neighboring countries, most of the revolutions and revolts have the potential to threaten peace in Israel, be it in the short term or long term. Imagine being surrounded by enemies and then being told that in order to have peace with just one of those enemies, you must release dangerous criminals, give up land that makes your country defensible and sacrifice other national projects. This is what the U.S. and the world expects of Israel.

These are the demands of the Palestinian Authority, which is calling for peace talks to center around 1967 borders and ending all Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem within a certain time frame. Returning to the 1967 lines would leave Israel in a nearly indefensible position in Jerusalem.

At a time when the surrounding nations are exploding in violence, reason would suggest that strong borders would be better than allowing enemies to walk up to your capital city. However, this is the climate in which the U.S. believes Israeli-Palestinian peace talks will thrive.

Kerry has run back and forth between Israel and the West Bank, calling on the two parties to just come to the negotiating table. That in itself has been a struggle. Now, with the demanded release of 104 Arab prisoners, the Palestinian Authority finally agreed to come to the negotiating table. Talks commenced on July 29.

How well can relations thrive when the surrounding nations are falling apart and radical Islam is on the rise? Just look at the success of the peace process during times of relative stability in the region.

Following the Yom Kippur war in 1973, the process faltered with the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. In the late ’70s there was hope for the peace process when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. That failed as well when Sadat was assassinated in Egypt. U.S. President Ronald Reagan tried to start up the process once more in 1982, this time bringing Jordan into the mix, but talks were once again fruitless. Following the Gulf War, U.S. President George H.W. Bush brought together a number of Arab nations to negotiate with Israel. The talks fell flat, leaving little more than a framework for future talks. These were all in times after violence, yet they all failed. Now the U.S. is pushing for peace talks at a time when security is a primary concern for Israel. Anyone want to guess what the outcome will be?

Despite the overwhelming circumstances working against a peace deal, the U.S. is forging ahead, seemingly unaware of the gargantuan Arab Spring headwind blowing against it. Of course, Israel is highly unlikely to agree to relinquish its land at such a volatile time. The whole scenario will only serve to portray Israel as unwilling to meet any demands set forward by the Palestinian Authority.

The truth is that the climate in the Middle East is set to bring down the peace process again, not give it room to grow.

The U.S., failing to gauge the “weather” in the Middle East, is setting up negotiations destined to fail. Not only that, Bible prophecy foretells a time coming when Israel once again will be at war with the Arabs. This is all explained in the booklets History and Prophecy of the Middle East and Jerusalem in Prophecy.

Mankind is struggling to find peace in the world. The Middle East is but one example on the gargantuan list of proofs that man cannot rule man. And yet, there is a time of peace coming. Order a free copy of the aforementioned booklets and read for yourself the incredible future that lies ahead for the Middle East and the world. It is not coming through man’s peace process, but God’s.