Bowing to what has long seemed inevitable, President Clinton finally acknowledged yesterday that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal was unlikely to be reached during his presidency - which has only a week to run. "Whatever happens will be the responsibility of the next administration and the winner of the Israeli election, whoever that may be," he said.
Still, Mr Clinton said he took comfort from the fact that both sides had "agreed in principle with the parameters" of his peace formula. But it must be small comfort. Israel and the Palestinians have detailed major reservations about the Clinton blueprint.
And although the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the former Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, are tentatively set to meet tonight for talks aimed at bridging some of those differences, and the Americans still hope to reach agreement on a new "Declaration of Principles" as a basis for peace-brokering in the Bush era, there is no reason to believe that, having failed for years to resolve disputes over such complex issues as Palestinian refugee rights and the status of Jerusalem, they will be able to make a great leap forward now.
Still more troubling for Mr Clinton and all who support his formula is the fact that each passing day brings stronger evidence that the next prime minister of Israel, to be elected on February 6th, will be Gen Ariel Sharon, who has already pronounced the entire Oslo peace process dead and buried. The hapless incumbent, Mr Ehud Barak, got his weekly dose of torture by opinion poll yesterday, with the latest surveys showing him trailing Gen Sharon by 18 to 20 per cent.
The same surveys give Mr Peres a slight edge over Gen Sharon, and although the firm word from Mr Barak is that he will not drop out of the race in favour of Mr Peres, another selection of polls next weekend could force his hand.
Meanwhile, in Hebron yesterday, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian 16-year-old. Eyewitnesses said he threw a grenade at the soldiers; Israeli military sources said he was brandishing a gun.