At the end of two days of arduous but indecisive talks in London, the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, yesterday issued an ultimatum to Israel: either the Prime Minister agrees to hand over another 13 per cent slice of the occupied West Bank to the Palestinians, or the negotiations are essentially over.
Determinedly diplomatic to the last, Ms Albright preferred to cloak the ultimatum in upbeat language. "We have made some progress," she said, "which we hope will facilitate agreement in the coming days."
If that agreement was forthcoming, she continued, President Clinton would invite the Israelis and Palestinians to Washington next Monday to launch discussions on the next phase of the peace process - a permanent accord.
But then Ms Albright toughened her tone. The Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, she noted dryly, already had accepted the latest American ideas, which include the demand for the 13 per cent Israeli pullout. Now, she indicated, it was up to Israel to follow suit.
Mr Netanyahu said yesterday he would go to Washington to attend peace talks, stating, "I went to London and I will go to Washington and to any other place to find peace with security."
However, Ms Albright stressed, "The invitation to Washington is on the basis of these ideas. Watering them down is not in the works."
Watering down the US proposals is exactly what Mr Netanyahu spent about seven or eight hours trying to do in his talks with Ms Albright in London.
He initially proposed a 9 per cent withdrawal. Some reports suggest he may have upped the offer to 10 or 11 per cent. But even those percentages, he told both Ms Albright and his British host, the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, would first require approval from his hardline cabinet.
Mr Arafat, by contrast, was almost a marginal presence at these talks. Having already signed on to the US proposals, he had nothing to discuss with Ms Albright, and is not prepared to meet Mr Netanyahu until the Israelis have signed on as well.
In the event, therefore, the London summit proved not to be the anticipated forum for the US to mediate talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
It was, rather, a series of negotiations between the Israelis and the US, with the Palestinians watching from the sidelines, hoping that a deal would be struck, being disappointed, and having no choice but to assent to the saga continuing in Washington - if, and it is still a big if, Mr Netanyahu bows to the Albright ultimatum.
"I have heard today that there is some progress," Mr Arafat observed in his parting remarks to the media, underlining that he was not really involved at all. "I hope as soon as possible to see this progress in reality."
Later, arriving in Morocco, Mr Arafat criticised Mr Netanyahu for "not respecting peace accords" during the talks. "Netanyahu has remained in his position which maintains the deadlock."
Mr Arafat was speaking in Rabat, where he was expected to meet King Hassan II to discuss the outcome of the talks. 9965839 In London, Mr Blair, who received vague but effusive praise from all sides for his "creative" suggestions, expressed a similar sentiment. "It's not yet a breakthrough, but it certainly isn't a breakdown, and there is progress," he said. "We're into the final chapter now."