After an extraordinary day of roller-coaster diplomacy yesterday, the most hyped and most cancelled meeting in these parts for a year is set to take place this morning at Gaza airport. A session of talks between the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, designed to formalise a fragile, week-old Intifada ceasefire and pave the way for a resumption of substantive peace talks.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders spent all of yesterday in a frenzy of confusion and outrage over cancelled trips and infuriating comments. The spat in Israel about remarks made in Iran by the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, interpreted by the Israeli government as legitimising suicide bombings and other Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets, had been largely smoothed over by the time of Mr Straw's arrival last night, and his cancelled meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, had been reinstated. Just like his predecessor Mr Robin Cook three years ago, who angered the Netanyahu government by visiting a disputed West Bank Jewish construction site in the company of Palestinian leaders, what Mr Straw appeared to have lost over the incident was a scheduled festive dinner in Jerusalem and any faint hope of exerting British diplomatic influence over Israeli policy making.
Far more significant was the second regional meeting cancelled yesterday morning - one which remained cancelled last night and for the foreseeable future: that between Mr Arafat and the Syrian President, Mr Bashar Assad, in Damascus. Mr Arafat had postponed his visit to Syria on September 12th, in the wake of the previous day's terror attacks in the US, but was waiting at Amman airport to fly to Syrian capital yesterday when the trip was cancelled again - this time, it seems clear, by the hosts.
Asked why the trip had been aborted at the 11th hour - some members of the Palestinian delegation were already in Damascus, having departed ahead of the main party - Mr Arafat said on his return to Gaza: "Ask the Syrians." However, some Syrian sources attempted to suggest that the responsibility lay with Mr Arafat.
What seems to have happened is that the Palestinian leader conveyed to Mr Assad's staff that he would not be able to stay in Damascus for as long as he had intended, because he would be hurrying home to meet Mr Peres. The Syrians, who sometimes publicly upbraid Mr Arafat for what they perceive as his over-moderate attitude to the Israelis, were furious both over the snub and over Mr Arafat's resumption of negotiations with Mr Peres, and apparently retorted that the Palestinian leader needn't bother coming to Damascus at all.
Mr Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian cabinet minister who arranged the trip, referred to "our Syrian brothers" as he attempted to explain the cancellation yesterday. But Palestinian-Syrian brotherhood is now in evident short supply. There is no suggestion at present of a new date for the visit, and the impact of the dispute on the behaviour of Hamas and other Palestinian rejectionist groups supported by Syria could prove deeply damaging to the fragile Intifada ceasefire.
Still, the unexpected cancellation facilitated the advancement of the Peres-Arafat talks from tomorrow, as first indicated, to this morning. Mr Peres was yesterday full of praise for Mr Arafat's ceasefire efforts, and even remarked - unprecedentedly for an Israeli leader - that he was "not certain that Arafat organised the Intifada" although "he positioned himself at its forefront after it broke out". Mr Arafat's aides, for their part, reasserted their commitment to the truce - which has led to a relative, if not complete, lull in the conflict.