A meeting in New York today between the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr David Levy, and Mr Abu Mazen, deputy to Mr Yasser Arafat, hosted by the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, is likely to conclude with the announcement of a formal resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after a six-month hiatus. Although it was the Palestinians who broke off the talks in March, in protest against an Israeli building project at Har Homa on the outskirts of Jerusalem, it was the Israelis who had been preventing a resumption.
After suicide bombings in Jerusalem in July and earlier this month, the Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, made all further negotiations conditional on intensified efforts by Mr Arafat to root out the Hamas militants responsible.
In the last few days, Mr Arafat's forces have arrested dozens of suspected Hamas activists in the West Bank and Gaza, and closed several Hamas welfare organisations, schools and a TV station, all said to be linked in some way to the Hamas military wing which organises suicide bombings.
In the light of these "first, preliminary steps", Mr Netanyahu told his ministers he was approving a renewal of peace talks and would be transferring to the Palestinian Authority some $17 million in tax revenues which Israel had been withholding.
Along with the crackdown, the Palestinian Authority seemed to signal a marked toughening in its attitude to Hamas at the weekend. Just a few weeks ago Mr Arafat was photographed embracing Hamas political leaders at a reconciliation gathering. On Friday, by contrast, a cabinet meeting issued a statement accusing Hamas of "sabotaging our national goal" and breaking its promise "to refrain from violence".
That changed stance appears to stem from the Israeli discovery that at least four of the five most recent suicide bombers came from Nablus in the West Bank, and not, as Mr Arafat had been claiming, from abroad.
The Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Mr Abdel Aziz Rantisi, accused Mr Arafat of "bowing to Israeli and American dictates" and spoke of "a blow against the Palestinian people".
If Mr Arafat is truly bent on fighting Hamas now, it may prove an extremely risky business. Support for the Islamic militants has grown amid frustration caused by falling living standards and the stagnation of peace efforts.
Mr Arafat's position, meanwhile, has rarely been weaker, damaged by rumours of his failing health and by open talk of possible successors. A violent confrontation with Hamas could cost him further support.
Mr Arafat is 68 and his aides acknowledge that he has been prone to fits of rage since undergoing surgery for blood clots in the brain after his plane crash-landed in the Libyan desert five years ago. However, they insist his overall medical condition is sound.
The current Israeli government, which remains sceptical of Mr Arafat's professed renunciation of terrorism, would undoubtedly be happier negotiating with one of the mooted successors, particularly with the urbane, businesslike Mr Mazen. However, none of those named as potential replacements for Mr Arafat has the necessary support among ordinary Palestinians to guarantee implementation of any peace accords which might be reached.
A general strike closed down Israel's airport, stock exchange, schools and banks for several hours yesterday, but was called off in the early afternoon. The main trade union federation, the Hista drut, is protesting at the government's plans to renege on a deal, signed by the previous Labour government, which improved workers' pension rights.
David Horovitz is managing editor of the Jerusalem Post