A senior Israeli negotiator at the Middle East talks at Camp David, Maryland, yesterday predicted that the direction of the summit - towards agreement or breakdown - would become clear within the course of today. "In my opinion we will know within 24 hours if we are going to move forward or stop," said Mr Amnon Shahak, a former chief of staff of the Israeli army and now the leader of the left-leaning Centre Party.
Asked what the chances were of reaching an agreement, Mr Shahak answered: "It is either zero per cent, or one hundred per cent. There is nothing in the middle." The comment strengthens the assessment that the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, is not prepared to settle for a partial deal, but wants a full agreement that includes a Palestinian declaration that the conflict between the two peoples has ended. Failing that, some commentators have suggested that Mr Barak would prefer no agreement at all.
President Clinton is again shuttling between Mr Barak and the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat. As the marathon summit reached the two-week mark yesterday, the sides were said to be focusing on all the major issues except for Jerusalem, which both sides claim as a capital. The apparent logic was to leave the vexed dispute over the Holy City until last and to try and forge ahead on other weighty issues, such as the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the problem of Palestinian refugees.
Nevertheless, Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city remained at the heart of the disagreement between the two sides.
One idea being tossed around was that of extending "functional sovereignty" to the Palestinians in their neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, although there were no details as to what powers this would include. But Mr Taher Abdel Rahim, a spokesman for Mr Arafat who is in regular contact with the Palestinian leader, said yesterday in Gaza that there had been no progress "on any of the issues".
The assessment of leading Israeli observers was that Mr Arafat would not settle any of the major issues until a solution had been found to the dispute over Jerusalem - one which included Palestinian sovereignty in the city. So far, the Israelis have offered Mr Arafat varying degrees of autonomy in East Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, right-wing Israeli opponents of a deal yesterday stepped up their protests, focusing on what they said was Mr Barak's willingness to divide the city. Before departing on a trip to East Jerusalem the right-wing opposition Likud leader, Mr Ariel Sharon, referred to the city as "the birthright of the Jewish people" and said: "No Prime Minister has the right to make concessions over Jerusalem."