MR Terje Larsen, the Norwegian official who mediated the first tentative contacts between the Rabin government and Mr Yasser Arafat's PLO four years ago, and who was engaged in arranging today's talks between Mr Arafat and the new Israeli government of Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, has undoubtedly found the task almost impossibly complex.
Mr Larsen, along with his wife, Ms Mona Juul, a Norwegian diplomat, helped to initiate contacts between Israeli and PLO officials in late 1992 that eventually produced the Israeli Palestinian autonomy accords.
Horrified at the breakdown of the relationship since Mr Netanyahu won elections in Israel in May, Mr Larsen, now based in Gaza as a UN co ordinator, approached the Israeli government last month to offer his mediation services again, and got a green light.
But despite almost three weeks of contacts some of them marathon meetings between Mr Netanyahu's and Mr Arafat's most senior aides, hosted by Mr Larsen and his wife in a Tel Aviv apartment - the crisis in IsraeliPalestinian ties remained acute.
Mr Arafat spoke of a renewed intifada, while his officials talked openly of renewing the armed struggle" against Israel unless rapid progress was made.
One of Mr Larsen's main objectives, now apparently realised, was to broker a meeting between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Arafat.
In his election campaign, the Prime Minister indicated deep revulsion at the prospect of holding face to face talks with the Palestinian leader. However, his growing appreciation of Mr Arafat's efforts to prevent Islamic extremist attacks on Israel, combined with the multiplying signs that the peace accords were moving ever closer to complete collapse, had mellowed him of late.
Indeed, Mr Netanyahu is understood to have kept time free both on Sunday night and last night for a ground breaking first meeting with the Palestinian Authority president.
Even earlier yesterday, Mr Arafat, explaining why talks still did not appear to be on the horizon, said simply: We haven't reached common ground."
The lengthy, Larsen hosted negotiations between lower level officials, which continued through yesterday, apparently made progress. Mr Netanyahu's aides are said to have confirmed Israel's agreement in principle to withdrawing its troops from most of Hebron, as it is committed to doing under accords signed by the previous government. But there is still argument over adjustments Israel wants to make in the specifics of the troop redeployment.
There is said to be agreement too, on granting thousands more Israeli entry permits for Palestinian labourers, on the opening of a Palestinian airport in Gaza, and on more convenient arrangements for Mr Arafat to travel from Gaza to the West Bank by helicopter. In recent weeks Israeli bureaucracy has gallingly kept Mr Arafat from taking to the air, or kept him circling for long periods.
. Egypt yesterday gave Israel three weeks to start implementing PLO Israel accords or face cancellation of a Middle East economic conference planned for Egypt in November.
The Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Mr Mohammed Bassiouny, told reporters: "We don't want promises, we need actions. The Egyptian government has given the Israeli government three weeks to start implementing five points Israel was committed to and did not implement."
In response, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said: "The Egyptian pronouncement constitutes an unfortunate threat which can only exacerbate tensions in the region."