Double down or fold on Israel-Palestine?

My good friend Joel Rubin argues that the US must put forward its own plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Democracy Arsenal.

Our country’s relationship with the Arab world needs to turn a new page, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stands out as unfinished business that must be resolved…It is time for the American plan.

Is there a precedent for this?  My reading of the situation is that the Israelis and the Palestinians aren’t serious about solving the problem at this point.  Can we force them to solve the problem if they do want to solve it themselves?  Tom Friedman gives an emphatic no.  Tom’s argument is somewhat more persuasive to me than Joel’s, but I worry about the unintended consequences of abandoning the effort.  Certainly a plan will have to have big sticks for non-compliance if the other side agrees.  I admit that I do not have a better idea than either Joel or Tom.