THE possibility that Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, might finalise a deal with Mr Yasser Arafat on Hebron, only for his own 18 member cabinet to reject it, became a distinct concern yesterday as five more ministers joined seven of their colleagues who have already publicly expressed scepticism or outright opposition.
The marathon negotiating sessions towards the long overdue Hebron accord continued, this time with a secretive pre dawn meeting between Mr Arafat and Mr Netanyahu at the Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel.
Both sides apparently hoped to keep word of this meeting out of the media, but news of the five hour session was broadcast on Israel Radio almost as soon as Mr Netanyahu had completed the journey back to Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister was immediately praised by the Labour led opposition for deepening his ties with Mr Arafat and for trying to resolve the last points of difference, and lambasted by members of his own coalition for keeping them in the dark and for responding, as one right wing Knesset member put it, to Mr Arafat's every beck and call.
Even yesterday's extensive talks failed to shift the final few obstacles which centre on Mr Arafat's demand that Mr Netanyahu give him a timetable for the three further West Bank redeployments due to take place once the military pull out from Hebron is complete. The Oslo accords already include just such a timetable, and every single date specified in the peace process thus far has proved irrelevant every deadline has been missed.
The haggling over dates gives more time for militants on both sides to act against the accord, and for Mr Netanyahu's political enemies to organise to thwart its approval. Three weeks ago, it seemed likely that four cabinet ministers would vote against the deal. As of yesterday, seven seem set to do so, and another five are wavering.
Mr Yair Katzav, younger brother of one of these floating ministerial voters (the Minister of Tourism, Mr Moshe Katzav), has now moved into one of the Hebron Jewish settler enclaves - Mr Netanyahu's brother in law, Mr Haggai Ben Artzi, moved to Hebron two months ago. Mr Katvaz recently took his mother around town in the hope that she would help persuade the minister to veto the deal.
The elderly rabbi on whose advice two other wavering ministers - from the ultra Orthodox Shas party - will cast their votes is currently in hospital with a gastric illness.
It is possible that Mr Netanyahu is deliberately creating talk of a cabinet crisis as a bargaining chip - a warning to Mr Arafat not to push him so far as to render the accord unacceptable to his coalition. But the Hebron settlers have mounted an extremely effective parliamentary lobbying operation in the past few weeks.
If the cabinet hurdle can be cleared, Labour will ensure the Hebron deal gains a majority in the full Knesset; it will support Mr Netanyahu so long as he proceeds with the Oslo process. Hence the crucial nature of the cabinet vote.
David Horovitz is managing editor of the Jerusalem Report