Sacred Barriers to Conflict Resolutions

I was slightly confused by this article, but I think the gist of it was that some people's values, the "sacred values" are more important than material goods in negotiations. Making the other country or group of people admit their wrong doing and take responsibility for it seems to a common theme among hostile groups before and material compensation can be made. Without the apology and acknowledged responsibility, the other country or people may feel bought off and not treated fairly. It was interesting to hear that Palestine and Israel could potentially be at peace if apologies were made on both sides. I don't think this method of recognizing sacred values would work with the USA and the Middle East in general however, as even if the US government was genuinely try to reverse actions taken so far, I think the situation is too far gone for apologies. We would need to take responsibility for more then the US government would be comfortable doing for us to get anywhere.