The Bush administration is sending its Middle East peace envoy back to the region tomorrow. It hopes to translate the current lull in Israeli-Palestinian violence into a stable ceasefire and thus pave the way for substantive negotiations.
Chastened by the escalation of violence that accompanied the envoy's visit here last month, however, the US has announced Mr Anthony Zinni will be staying for only four days this time - and will devote his efforts to ensuring that the Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat "is cracking down on terrorists, dismantling their infrastructure". If so, said a spokesman at the US embassy in Tel Aviv, Mr Zinni would then urge Israel to ease its restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Privately, American officials indicate that Mr Zinni wants to encourage the two sides to begin implementation of the US-backed Tenet Plan and Mitchell Commission proposals for a return to the peace table - proposals that provide for a six-week "cooling-off period" to be followed by confidence-building measures including a freeze by Israel on all building at settlements in the occupied territories. Palestinian officials say they are keen to begin this process.
Mr Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign Minister, agrees. But aides to the Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, said yesterday the "seven days of quiet" Mr Sharon has demanded as a first step had not yet begun. Rather than "smashing the infrastructure" of Hamas and other extremist groups, a spokesman said, Mr Arafat had merely concluded behind-the-scenes accords with them, to obtain a temporary suspension in attacks on Israeli targets.
Despite this assertion, some Israeli military officials acknowledge that, for the first time in 15 months of intifada conflict, Mr Arafat is engaged in a serious crackdown. The Hebrew Ha'aretz daily yesterday quoted a senior military source saying that, while "there is not yet a fight to the finish against the Islamic terrorist groups, the Palestinian effort now is more serious and more thorough than the previous declarations about a ceasefire". Some 200 militants have been arrested by the PA. Nevertheless, Israel is continuing to raid PA territory and make arrests of its own - seizing 10 people yesterday in Gaza and the West Bank.
And while the leaders of Mr Arafat's Fatah group and of Hamas have publicly endorsed his ceasefire call, three men carrying explosives, killed by Israeli troops when attempting to cross into Israel on Sunday night, were Fatah members. Mr Sharon yesterday rejected a proposal that President Moshe Katsav address Palestinian deputies in Ramallah and offer a one-year hudna - a non-belligerency pact, derived from Arabic tribal law. Aides to the prime minister were quoted as calling the idea "idiotic". Mr Katsav, a former Knesset member from Mr Sharon's Likud party, was said to be deeply hurt by the brusque rejection.