Mr Mahmoud Abbas has been elected Palestinian President to succeed Yasser Arafat. It is a clear-cut and decisive result, in which he gained 62 per cent of the poll on an estimated turnout of 66 per cent.
The result, following a stolid campaign, stands comparison with elections in many other states - which is remarkable considering that it was the first such exercise to have been held in the West Bank and Gaza. It signifies a widespread desire among Palestinians for political progress, in which Mr Abbas will depend crucially on reciprocal support from the new Israeli coalition government led by Mr Ariel Sharon and from President Bush's new administration in Washington.
The coincidence of their coming to power creates a real opportunity for movement in this strategic and intransigent conflict - if the will is genuinely there. Mr Abbas stood on a platform supporting renewed talks with Israel and has described Mr Sharon as a potential negotiating partner. He has called on militant Palestinian groups to suspend their armed attacks on Israel while he explores the options for peaceful progress. Despite considerable disenchantment among younger Palestinians that he represents an older, exiled generation who have little contact with those born and reared in the territories occupied by Israel, they are willing to give him a real chance.
Mr Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Mr Abbas will be judged by the action he takes against the armed groups and their attacks on Israeli targets and civilians. He spoke as the Knesset prepared to vote on his new coalition with the Israeli Labour party and an ultra-orthodox group, based on support for his plan to withdraw from Gaza and consolidate Israel's presence on the West Bank. Labour made it a condition of the coalition that this move should be linked to a wider effort to renew negotiations, based on the Oslo Accords which ended in stalemate at the Camp David talks in 2000. It remains to be seen whether they can hold Mr Sharon to such a commitment. He has come a long way on the issue, risking a split in his Likud party and a potential realignment of Israeli politics to pursue it.
Firm international pressure will be required to turn this opportunity to advantage. On the face of it, President Bush is well-positioned and willing to lead it if he works closely with European leaders. Such progress will be necessary to bolster US policy in Iraq. The big question is whether Mr Bush will be ready to put vigorous and sustained pressure on Mr Sharon in the pursuit of a settlement.