MIDDLE EAST: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will have returned from the summit yesterday in Sharm El-Sheikh feeling justifiably self-satisfied. But having arrived back home, that feeling will quickly dissipate as he contemplates the political and diplomatic hurdles he must scale in the coming months, writes Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem
He has achieved his objective of not talking to the Palestinians until they agree to end the violence. His plan to withdraw from Gaza in the summer now has the stamp of approval not only of the Americans and Europeans, but also the Egyptians, Jordanians and Palestinians.
Egypt and Jordan are on the verge of returning their ambassadors to Israel after recalling them during the first few months of the intifada uprising. And Mr Sharon's relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, until recently one of his most strident critics, are blossoming: Mr Mubarak received an invitation yesterday from Mr Sharon to visit Israel; in return he acted as the Israeli leader's personal guide during a tour of the Red Sea port where the summit was held.
What's more, Mr Sharon and Palestinian leader Mr Mahmoud Abbas agreed to meet again within two weeks, possibly at the Israeli leader's private ranch in the southern Negev desert. There were also reports that Mr Sharon had told his Palestinian counterpart he was ready to meet him in Ramallah, where Mr Abbas has his West Bank office.
The Israeli leader will need Mr Abbas in the coming months. In the newly elected Palestinian leader, Mr Sharon now has a partner with whom he can co-ordinate his Gaza plan, rather than having to implement it unilaterally.
One of the criticisms he has faced from opponents of his plan is the absence of any address on the Palestinian side when it comes to implementation.
But the summit, Mr Sharon knows, will be the easy part. He will have been relieved that none of the substantive issues at the heart of the conflict - final borders, the future of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees - were on the table yesterday. But he will not be able to engage in diplomatic foreplay forever.
Already yesterday, the gap between him and Mr Abbas over when final-status issues should be on the table was evident. The Palestinian leader said he considered the steps he had already taken to end the violence, including the deployment of his forces in Gaza, to be part of the first stage of the road map peace plan.
But Mr Sharon, who has never been an enthusiast of the internationally backed plan, would only say that his blueprint for a Gaza withdrawal - meant to begin in the summer - could lead to the revival of the road map.
If Mr Abbas is able to keep a lid on the violence, Mr Sharon will also face growing pressure, at home and abroad, to begin discussing those issues at the core of the conflict, not just security co-operation and the release of prisoners.
Already the Palestinian leader has won praise in Washington for the steps he has taken to douse the violence, and during her trip to the region earlier this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it clear she expected the sides to return to the road map.
But the most serious challenge the Israeli leader faces in the coming months is the opposition at home to his plan to evacuate all 21 settlements in Gaza - especially from lawmakers inside his own ruling Likud Party who are fighting to prevent a pull-out.
Mr Sharon won a small victory yesterday when a parliamentary committee narrowly voted in favour of a Bill that provides compensation for settlers who are evacuated from their homes.
But he will soon face another, more foreboding challenge: he must pass the 2005 state budget by the end of March, otherwise his government will fall.
With at least one-third of his party threatening to vote against the budget in protest over his Gaza plan, it is unclear whether Mr Sharon will be able to muster a majority.
In his declaration at the summit yesterday, the Israeli leader said that "extremists want to bury the opportunity" that now presented itself.
"If we don't act now," he warned, "they might succeed." He was not referring only to the Palestinians, but also to the constituency that is most vociferously opposed to his plan - the settlers.
In recent weeks, political leaders and military officials have said they fear possible violence by settlers in a bid to derail a Gaza withdrawal, and maybe even an attempt on the prime minister's life. As the withdrawal draws closer, these threats will compound.