Gen Ariel Sharon, the hardline opposition leader who looks set to become Israel's prime minister in elections next week, made it clear yesterday that he had no intention of honouring any understandings reached by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at Taba in Egypt in the past few days.
Israel's Foreign Minister, Mr Shlomo Ben-Ami, and Mr Abu Ala, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Assembly, wrapped up the Taba talks on Saturday with a joint declaration that the two sides had "never been so close" to a permanent deal as they were now, but that they were being forced to cut short their discussions because of next week's elections.
While Mr Abu Ala noted that the gaps on many central issues were still wide, Mr Ben-Ami said progress had been made "on all issues" and there was now "a platform to build on".
Nevertheless, because no concrete agreement was reached or even neared, there is little likelihood that the talks will give Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, the electoral boost he had been desperately seeking in his uphill struggle to win re-election.
After a meeting yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos between the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Regional Development Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, Mr Arafat may also meet Mr Barak, possibly in Stockholm today, to put a seal on this round of negotiations.
Such meetings and progress, however, seem likely to be rendered irrelevant as of next Tuesday, February 6th, when Gen Sharon looks certain to oust Mr Barak. Speaking yesterday, Gen Sharon dismissed the Taba talks as "an electoral ploy" cooked up for Mr Barak's benefit and made it clear that he would feel himself bound only by peace accords ratified by the Knesset.
Of the key issues discussed at Taba, there was no apparent progress on the disputed fate of Jerusalem, nor was there substantial progress on the Palestinian demand for a right of return to Israel for millions of Palestinian refugees.
On the territorial issue, the word from Taba was that Mr Barak's negotiators were offering to relinquish more than 90 per cent of the West Bank and to dismantle dozens of settlements. The Palestinians want Israel to leave 96 per cent of the West Bank.
Gen Sharon, for his part, says he will not give the Palestinians any more than the 42 per cent of the West Bank where they have full or partial control today.