AS the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived in Washington for today's crisis talks with President Clinton, Israeli moderates were doing their best to show they remain committed to and to the land for peace formula that underpins the disintegrating accords.
Left wing Israelis organised weekend protests at main road junctions throughout the country, holding banners accusing Mr Netanyahu of "destroying peace" by pushing ahead with settlement building.
At a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, in the central square now named after the late Yitzhak Rabin, about 15,000 demonstrators cheered Mr Rabin's successor as Labour leader, Mr Shimon Peres, when he declared: "We are standing here determined to ensure that peace will not be halted."
But no matter how loudly the crowd applauded, they could not conceal a paltry turnout that underlined the absence of cohesive left wing opposition to Mr Netanyahu. And Mr Peres himself, the architect of the Oslo peace process and still the figurehead of Israeli moderation, is part of the problem.
A recent Israeli survey showed 78 per cent supported the peace process. But these pro peace Israelis are divided some believe Mr Netanyahu and his Likud led coalition can yet deliver on his promise to bring "peace and security"; some believe Mr Peres can salvage the process by joining a "unity government" with Mr Netanyahu; and some believe Labour must be rejuvenated, under a new leader, and must then try to force Mr Netanyahu out of office as quickly as possible.
Mrs Leah Rabin, Mr Rabin's widow, has put herself firmly in the third camp. In several recent interviews, she ridiculed the notion of a unity government, intimated that she felt Mr Peres should have stood down after losing last May's elections, and pledged her support for Labour's leader in waiting, Mr Ehud Barak.
While Labour bickers, Mr Netanyahu stuck to his tough stance ahead of the Washington talks, vowing not to halt his latest building project at Har Homa in East Jerusalem. But several top Palestinian officials are also Washington bound, carrying the equally adamant message that there can be no new negotiations until work stops at Har Homa.