BENJAMIN Netanyahu took office as Israel's prime minister in June with the reputation of a master media manipulator. But it is the veteran Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, who appears to be outmanoeuvring him, not only in terms of public relations, but also in the more substantive area of peace negotiations.
Mr Arafat's latest PR victory came with the publicity yesterday afforded to a secret meeting he held late on Tuesday with a small group of a Jewish settlers. These are the very people with whom he is contesting the rights to West Bank land.
Hours earlier, Mr Netanyahu had paid a visit to the settlement of Ariel, and drawn a new barrage of regional and international fire by pledging to oversee widespread settlement expansion. But no sooner had his officials finished condemning Mr Netanyahu's settlement policies as a breach of the peace process, than Mr Arafat was demonstrating a markedly or conciliatory approach.
Hosting the settler delegation in Bethlehem, Mr Arafat offered handshakes, drinks and promises of neighbourly relations. He even agreed to appoint a new liaison official to boost economic relations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr Arafat assured the delegation he was doing his best to promote co existence, and left them impressed by what one of them termed a "cordial and business like" conversation.
PR apart, Mr Arafat also appears to have gained the upper hand in the interminable talks over Israel's military redeployment in Hebron. After two months of deadlock, Israel is understood to have dropped a demand for written permission to enter the Palestinian areas of the city if it deems this necessary to prevent attacks on Israeli targets. The Palestinians regarded this demand as an underhand effort to guarantee continued Israeli control over the four fifths of the city that are supposed to be handed over to Mr Arafat's rule. If the issue has indeed now been resolved, the largest obstacle blocking the redeployment may now have been removed.
Israeli sources have for several days been insisting that a deal is close at hand. Mr Netanyahu ordered a cabinet colleague to delay a trip abroad this week, presumably because he believed the accord was close completion. Still, the prime minister has himself scheduled a trip next week - he will be in Ireland after visiting Spain and Portugal.