The faintest of hopes emerged yesterday for progress towards a cessation of Israeli-Palestinian violence as the visiting German Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer,worked to arrange a meeting, probably early next week, between the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres.
Mr Fischer shuttled between Jerusalem and Ramallah all day, apparently trying to ensure that the meeting - which would be the first in two months before the two former partners and joint Nobel Peace laureates - achieve substantive progress.
That Mr Fischer's effort came on the day of a car bombing (which caused no injuries) alongside the Israeli police headquarters in central Jerusalem, and of clashes in the Gaza city of Rafah and several West Bank flashpoints, only underlined its importance. That he carried out a very similar effort in early June to no avail only underlined the basis for heavy scepticism.
Mr Fischer happened to be staying in Tel Aviv on the night of the June 1st suicide bombing that killed 22 Israelis outside a beachfront night club. He hurried to Ramallah the following morning, and stood alongside Mr Arafat as the Palestinian leader issued an unprecedented Arabic-language ceasefire call. But, although the US subsequently developed a formal ceasefire agreement, it never took hold, and the death toll from almost 11 months of daily confrontation has now seen more than 500 Palestinians and 150 Israelis killed.
Mr Arafat told Mr Fischer that he would be "happy to meet again with Mr Shimon Peres" and, to the German visitor's evident surprise, suggested that the talks might take place in Berlin. Mr Fischer, though insisting that his door was always open, suggested that there were "other places" closer to home that might be more appropriate - perhaps reflecting a concern that, if held in Germany, such talks might be used by both sides more to court international public opinion than for concrete efforts at halting the violence.
Aides to Mr Arafat made clear yesterday that they doubted if Mr Peres would bring anything new to the table, and stressed that even his latest "phased" ceasefire idea - halting the violence in one area after another - would not be acceptable unless there was a clear-cut political gain for the Palestinians, such as Israel relinquishing the PLO's headquarters at Orient House in West Jerusalem.
Mr Fischer has suggested that Israel sweeten the talks by releasing the more than $100 million in tax revenue from Palestinian workers that it has been refusing to hand over to the Palestinian Authority - arguing that it would be used to fund factions in Mr Arafat's security apparatus which Israel charges are involved in the violence.
Although the release of such funds is not inconceivable, it is unlikely that Mr Sharon will let Mr Peres offer Mr Arafat anything more of real substance; the Prime Minister has been adamant that a full ceasefire is a precondition to any serious diplomatic initiative.
Derek Scally adds from Berlin:
Mr Fischer was dubbed "the Accidental Mediator" by the German media last June on the night of the Tel Aviv suicide bombing, when he persuaded Mr Arafat to call a ceasefire. Mr Fischer was keen to cultivate the "accidental mediator" image, knowing that Israel has always been aloof to uninvited mediators in the region.
But Israel has not forgotten how Germany rejected the proposal by EU Commissioner Mr Chris Patten calling for moderate sanction on Israel for its actions against the Palestinians.
On the other side, Mr Fischer has close contacts with the PLO, made during his left-wing radical days. A young Mr Fischer attended a PLO conference in 1969 in Algeria.