The British Prime Minister's Middle East peace initiative seems likely to end in discord and despair. Mr Tony Blair had hoped the so-called "London summit", which begins today, would rescue the deadlocked peace process.
The original assumption was that, in the supporting presence of the US Secretary of State, Ms Albright, and Mr Blair, the leaders would try to smooth away the obstacles delaying the next phase of the peace effort - a further Israeli withdrawal from occupied West Bank land - for well over a year.
But the chasm between the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, has widened to such an extent that a session convened today between the two would represent a considerable and unexpected sign of progress rather than the summit's starting point.
Mr Netanyahu's spokesman, Mr David Bar-Illan, put a further damper on a positive outcome to the talks yesterday, saying it would be "utterly impossible" for Israel to accept withdrawal from 13 per cent of the West Bank, the figure put forward by the US in an effort to break the 13-month deadlock.
"I think the administration knows our position. It would be utterly impossible for Israel to adhere to a withdrawal of 13 per cent," he added.
Mr Arafat has accepted the proposal, however, and says the success of the London summit "depends entirely on Prime Minister Netanyahu".
"Netanyahu has manoeuvred himself into a remarkable position for an Israeli prime minister," wrote the Israeli analyst Chemi Shalev, in the Ma'ariv daily yesterday. "In London, he will be facing up to an agreed position, reached in advance, by the Americans and the Palestinians."
Mr Netanyahu's credibility with Mr Arafat and Ms Albright will not be helped by the actions of a senior Israeli official, reputedly the army's chief of staff, Gen Amnon Shahak, who has been telling US and Egyptian officials: "Anyone who says that 2 or 3 per cent of the West Bank has an impact on Israeli security is making a fool of himself."
Meanwhile, the US Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, who wound up his Middle East tour yesterday, issued a warning to the two leaders, according to a senior US official.
Mr Gore, in Israel for the state's 50th anniversary celebrations, said: "Look, this is it. You can't afford to let this moment pass. It may not come back again. You have got to open your minds and try to land this one."