Tentative plans have been made for a first meeting in several weeks between Israeli and Palestinian security officials today, as American Middle East envoy Mr William Burns continues his shuttle diplomacy to try and end eight months of violence that have cost more than 500 lives.
Mr Burns held talks yesterday with both Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, urging both sides to implement the recommendations of the Mitchell Commission report, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, a "cooling-off" period, confidence-building measures such as an Israeli settlement freeze, and an eventual resumption of peace negotiations.
Mr Sharon, after much hesitation and some attempts at qualification, is said to have told Mr Burns that Israel accepts the Mitchell proposals - including the call for a settlement freeze once the ceasefire takes hold. Mr Arafat, for his part, is reported to have indicated to the Tanzim - gunmen, purportedly loyal to him, who have been at the forefront of Intifada violence - that the time had come for a gradual reduction in violence.
This was not immediately evident, however: two Israelis were hurt, one of them badly, in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank last night.
It was not immediately clear whether this latest shooting would affect the plans for a meeting of both sides' security officials today.
Mr Arafat, who was heading off last night for talks in Moscow, is said to have told aides that, if Palestinian violence stopped, the world would see which party was the aggressor in this conflict. Mr Sharon, who has been ordering his troops to try and hold their fire, has been saying much the same thing.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has evidently drawn his conclusion. In an interview with the state-owned daily al-Ahram, he described Mr Sharon's purported ceasefire as "deception of international public opinion". In truth, he said, "Israeli shelling of Palestinian land and infrastructure has not stopped".
Palestinian officials said Israeli troops wounded a Palestinian four-year-old in Gaza yesterday. Israeli officials said Palestinians threw hand-grenades at a patrol vehicle in Gaza, and petrol bombs at the back entrance to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital.
Palestinian militants are threatening to defy any ceasefire. Hamas mounted a demonstration in Gaza yesterday featuring masked gunmen and symbolic bombings of models of Israeli targets, and is pledging more attacks on Israel.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem last night, the ceiling and a wall fell in at the Versailles Hall, where the collapse of the floor during a wedding celebration last Thursday plunged 23 people to their deaths. More than 100 of those injured in the disaster are still in hospital. No one was hurt last night. Police have arrested several of those involved in the construction of the building, and more arrests are expected today.
AFP adds: Jordan's King Abdullah II arrived on Monday in Berlin on the eve of a working one-day visit to Germany during which he will hold talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on the situation in the Middle East and bilateral relations.
It is the king's second visit to Germany. The first was in May 1999, when he took up the crown after the death of his father, King Hussein. Mr Schroeder last visited Jordan six months ago.
King Abdullah's visit follows a trip to Germany by President Mubarak in April, during which the Egyptian leader called on Germany to use its EU influence to encourage the bloc to play a bigger role in the Middle East.
Mr Sharon will begin a tour of European capitals next month.