He was not the last. Peres wanted to make Palestinian state, but thanks to Hamas he lost elections. Then Barak PM offered Palestinians a state and got second Intifada in return. Then Olmert offered Palestinians a state and got rockets from Gaza and Lebanon.
Your beloved Hamas does not posses any threat to Israel at all. The last state which could fight Israel (Syria) was destroyed by Iran.
Honestly, it seems to me that Palestinian Authority is not interested, they just used the (oslo accords) process to get legitimacy.
Moment any peace is made with Israel, they lose their biggest excuse and scapegoat to their people....and they will lose their monolith on power....and they do not like that.
Just look each time what happens when Arafat faced internal political issue, immediately some agitation was started in some area to focus attention there and then have it spiral out of control w.r.t Israel, so they can say "look there".
The flashpoints are well known for this....esp in al aqsa compound where this current one started (with stockpiling of rocks and fireworks inside the mosque, that little media seems to be interested in showing).
This has all been continued by mahmoud abbas.....whenever its time for election (that has been put off multiple times since the 2004 result where Hamas won, and Fatah is scared to let it again, this time in West Bank too).
Like this april yet again (PA election "postponed"/cancelled"), this kind of thing initiated.....knowing fully well it can and likely will spiral out of control.
Then they give a big solidarity support to Hamas/Gaza as the violence and indiscriminate rocket attacks commence on Israel, all the while not running that election and playing this status quo "frozen" political gamesmanship with them.
Fatah and Hamas are part of same problem in the end.....just different levels of it.....the psychology of politics and cushiness you can get from some inherited situation.
I feel very bad for the regular people in the end, that are caught up in this, suffer all of it....and have to support the big stick guy in the end anyway because of tribal solidarity in push come to shove.
I dont know what it will take to change that all, I think we are stuck with it, it is human nature.