Israel is gradually reopening its borders to Palestinian labourers, for the first time since the July 30th twin suicide bombing in Jerusalem's main fruit and vegetable market.
The Israeli military authorities, which have kept the West Bank and Gaza Strip almost hermetically sealed off from Israel since the blast, announced yesterday that 4,000 Palestinian workers would be reissued with work permits, and that further measures to ease the closure would be implemented in the next few days.
Israel argues that the closure is a key tool in preventing further attacks by the Palestinian Islamic militants who carried out the July 30th bombing; the Palestinians denounce it as a collective punishment that costs their economy some $8 million (£5.5 million) in lost trade and wages and gnaws at support for peaceful relations with Israel.
Before the July blast, more than 100,000 Palestinians were working inside Israel - many in construction and agriculture.
Israeli officials insist they are still receiving intelligence warnings of new bombing plans by the militants. The decision to allow some labourers back to work - albeit only a few thousand, all married men, aged 35 and over - seems designed to at least slightly alleviate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a planned first peace-making mission next week by the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright.
Ms Albright will also have to try to warm relations between Israel and its first peace partner, Egypt, which have been further damaged by Sunday's spying conviction in an Egyptian state security court of an Israeli Druse citizen, Azzam Azzam. Azzam was jailed for 15 years, despite the protests of Israel's political leadership, which has insisted on his innocence.
The Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday called the verdict "twisted", appealed to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to issue a pardon, and pledged to work unceasingly for Azzam's return.
The trial, which began on April 24th, brought Egyptian-Israeli relations to one of their lowest points since their 1979 peace treaty.
Israeli security forces arrested seven brothers in the West Bank village of al-Khader yesterday, relatives said. It was not clear if the arrests were made over Israel's investigation into the Jerusalem market bombing in which 17 people were killed.