MR JIBRIL Rajoub, Mr Yasser Arafat's West Bank security chief, said yesterday he was "100 per cent certain" that Israel would withdraw most of its troops from Hebron in the near future, as it is committed to doing under the terms of the Oslo peace accords.
Mr Rajoub's confidence contrasts sharply with comments made by the Palestinian President, Mr Arafat, on Thursday, to the effect that the latest round of peace talks this week had made no progress, and that the Palestinians should be prepared "for all eventualities".
But Mr Rajoub should know what he is talking about late on Thursday night he secretly met Israel's military chiefs to discuss the much delayed Hebron pullout.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly pledged to carry out the withdrawal, but is demanding various "security modifications" before giving the green light. Among those is a demand that Palestinian policemen in Hebron carry only pistols, and not rifles as specified in the accord.
The Defence Minister, Mr Yitzhak Mordechai, confirmed yesterday that Israel was insisting on this change, and despite Palestinian retorts that this was out of the question, the Palestinians have backed down on similar demands in the past, and could yet do so again to expedite the Israelis' departure.
Mr Mordechai is tomorrow leaving for a trip to the US, where he is expected to be afforded an extremely cordial welcome by a Clinton administration that sees the former army general as one of the moderating influences in Mr Netanyahu's hardline coalition.
The Americans have also identified the Foreign Minister, Mr David Levy, as a relative "dove" and are cultivating him as well as was evidenced by the somewhat exaggerated praise heaped upon him earlier this week by the visiting Secretary of State, Mr Warren Christopher.
The US appears to be looking desperately for means to by pass Mr Netanyahu, or at least to subvert his hardline instincts, in an effort to prevent a further escalation of Middle East tension.
According to US reports, President Clinton made it clear to Mr Netanyahu at the Washington summit earlier this month that he no longer much trusted the Israeli Prime Minister, and felt that his fine words were too infrequently matched by fine deeds.
The US is not alone in reaching this conclusion, and in seeking out other paths to influence in Israel. Earlier this week, Mr Arafat met Israel's President Ezer Weizman, who has no real power but considerable stature and public support. Egypt's President, Mr Hosni Mubarak, now wants nothing to do with the Prime Minister, but will be hosting Mr Weizman in Cairo this week.
King Hussein of Jordan has invited Mr Weizman to Amman later this month. The king is said to have told Mr Netanyahu flatly in Washington that he considered his attitude to peace efforts "arrogant and extremist", that he was sadly lacking in stature when compared to the late Yitzhak Rabin, and that he had brought the region "to the edge of the abyss".
. The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu's, relations with army chiefs have hit rock bottom since his decision to open an archaeological tunnel in Jerusalem provoked a wave of violence, the mass circulation daily Yediot Aharoro said yesterday. The paper said Mr Netanyahu accuses army chiefs of being too closely aligned to the policies of the previous Labour government.