Sadat and Begin could barely stand each other but they made an agreement because they concluded it was the best thing for their countries. But a peace pact will now be much harder to sell to Israelis. The new intifada casts a harsh light on the compromises Barak offered at Camp David. Israelis are also less disposed to consider the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in light of the clashes with Israeli Arabs. Moreover, any deal requires Israelis to accept Arafat as a reliable peace partner, never easy and now even more contentious.
Israeli officials have an idea of what to do if a negotiated settlement is impossible.
They are preparing to unilaterally set Israel's border with the Palestinians, with Israeli security concerns dictating where the line is drawn. Jewish settlements surrounded by Palestinian areas in the heart of the West Bank and Gaza probably would have to be evacuated. That was the rationale for withdrawing from Joseph's Tomb. But it would not be easy. As the week ended, Clinton, seeing his hoped-for legacy as Middle East peacemaker unraveling, was working the phones again to secure a new summit with Barak and Arafat in Egypt.