Violence threatened the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian territories nearly as soon as it was declared. On Wednesday, both governments were claiming the upper hand after an agreement mediated by Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi called off eight days of Israeli-Palestinian bombardments. On Friday, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man who lived in Gaza.

The cease-fire has held, but clearly the underlying issues behind the fighting have not been solved.

Meanwhile, Morsi may not be available to help out if another flare-up occurs. Just hours after being hailed for his successful mediation, Morsi turned around and decreed sweeping powers for himself in Egypt.

It was a breathtaking power move in a country where people recently fought hard to remove the old, dictatorial status quo, and protesters took to the streets in Cairo on Friday in angry response. After thanking Morsi earlier this week, the U.S. State Department has declared itself "concerned" about his latest actions and is scrambling to respond.

All of this adds up to a powerful reminder that it's way past time for the Israelis and the Palestinians to get serious about implementing a two-state solution instead of pointing fingers and lobbing bombs.

Other countries, including the United States, have a role to play in encouraging the two-state solution, but ultimately that decision has to come from the Israelis and the Palestinians themselves. At the moment, it's uncertain whether either side of this conflict has the necessary leadership to fight for peace.

But peace is what's necessary, because the alternative is a continuation of a 64-year conflict with no end in sight. The latest cease-fire is a good beginning, but the hard work starts now.