Mr Mahmoud Abbas has been sworn in as President of the Palestinian Authority this morning , and starts the job with a full-blown crisis on his hands: Israel, with apparent US blessing, cut contact with his government even before he had been sworn into office.
Israel's startling reversal, following initial good will towards Abbas, came after Palestinian militants killed six Israeli civilians at a Gaza cargo crossing earlier this week. Aides to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon claimed the attack was launched from a Palestinian Authority base.
The United States has appeared to agree with Sharon. "He's got to get those terrorists under control," Secretary of State Colin Powell said of Abbas, speaking in an interview with the Radio America Network.
The Gaza attack and Israel's response has dampened expectations that the two sides would quickly return to the negotiating table after four years of conflict. After Abbas' election last Sunday, hopes had been running high that the two leaders could break out of the deadlock. Israel and the United States had refused to deal with Yasser Arafat, accusing him of fomenting terror.
Abbas complained in a meeting with Israeli Arab legislators yesterday that Israel was casting blame before he had even taken office.
Even as Abbas was being sworn in today, another issue flared, when two top Palestinian election officials resigned, saying they had been pressured by Abbas' campaign and intelligence officials to abruptly change voting procedures during the presidential election.
"These pressures and threats lessened the degree of the integrity of the election, even though overall it was free and fair," said Ammar Dwaik, the deputy chairman of the commission, who resigned on Saturday along with Baha al-Bakri.
The officials - who said they were pressured to extend voting hours during last weekend's balloting - said they wanted to warn the public that such irregularities could be repeated in July's legislative elections. The officials said they did not believe the changes significantly altered the outcome of Abbas' win.
Even after the inauguration it is unlikely Abbas will meet Israel's demands. Abbas has spoken out against violence and has said attacks on Israel don't serve Palestinian interests. However, he insists he'll use persuasion, not coercion, in dealing with the militants.