Egypt has a key role as an ally to both Israel and Gazan Palestinians. It's one of the few countries that has a relationship with both groups. As the political ground shifts yet again in the Middle East, we take a look at one Palestinian doctor and how he came to be an advocate for peace in Gaza.

Described as a chain-smoking, impassioned literary critic and political essayist, he has spent his adult life advocating for democratic reform in China. Today, he becomes the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And as of now, it is unclear how he will receive that news in his prison cell.

Liu Xiaobo is the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his nonviolent political reform movement. The 54-year-old is months into an 11 year prison sentence for "inciting the subversion of state power."

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, American presidents have tried long and hard to encourage peace in the Middle East. After he helped ink the Camp David Accords, former President Jimmy Carter insightfully warned that peace would not come easily. "The questions that have brought warfare and bitterness to the Middle East for the last thirty years will not be settled overnight," he said. Now, six presidencies and thirty years later, lasting peace has yet to be achieved.

Now this is going to sound somewhat familiar… the White House is hosting direct talks, starting today, to begin brokering an Arab-Israeli peace agreement, ideally to be formalized within the next year. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas will be in Washington today for the first face-to-face talks in two years.

Expectations are low, and the inevitable question arises: is anything really new this time around?

As President Obama wraps up his trip in Asia, news out of the Middle East is threatening to distract from whatever progress he might have made this past week on the international stage. Israel has announced plans to expand a Jewish district of Jerusalem captured in the 1967 war. The Palestinians have said this district belongs to their future state.

Isabel Kershner is a reporter for our partner The New York Times. She reported on the story, and she joins us from Jerusalem.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Israel today after spending three days in neighboring Jordan. Israeli leaders, including President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gathered to greet the Pontiff at the airport. But the Pope's visit is not without controversy. After he arrived in Israel, the Pope called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian homeland, a stance that could strain his mission of easing relations between the Vatican and Jews. For more we turn to the BBC's Rome correspondent and Pope watcher, David Willey.

Pope Benedict arrived in Israel today. It's the fourth day of his eight-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Pope's visit coincides with intense diplomatic efforts to re-start the Mideast peace process. King Abdullah of Jordan says the U.S. is putting the final touches to a new multi-party and comprehensive plan for peace in the Middle East. For more on this ambitious plan, we turn to the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

Thirty years ago today Egypt and Israel brokered a historic peace treaty, ending three decades of war. When Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin shook hands with Egypt’s president Anwar el-Sadat on the White House lawn, it marked a new era for the Middle East. But has the peace deal fallen short of its initial expectations? Joining us to mark this moment, and to assess Middle-East peace in the 21st century is Martin Indyk. He’s the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton administration. He’s currently the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He has a new book out; it’s called Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East.

Here's clip that looks back on the historic peace accords. This movie is part of an exhibition that is taking place in the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem.

How would you react if you returned to your home to find that your neighbor had murdered your brothers and sisters? African musician Jean Paul Samputu experienced exactly that when he came home to his native Rwanda after touring the continent. While most would be dragged into anger and hatred, Jean Paul Samputu found the strength to forgive. He now travels the world preaching forgiveness. He joins The Takeaway before he arrives at an international conference on forgiveness taking place in Rwanda.