A chain of developments in Israel and its surroundings since the historic visit by US President Barack Obama could indicate that the busiest personality in the world did not abandon the US economic, employment and health burdens only to lay wreaths on graves in Jerusalem and to chat with young people in Ramallah. 

The list starts out with the reconciliation between Israel and Turkey and continues with the decision by the Arab League summit in Qatar. Almost at the same time, Secretary of State John Kerry emerged from a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni with a promise that the new Israeli government would not embarrass the US President with unilateral steps, such as announcing the construction of a new neighborhood in east Jerusalem. In return, Netanyahu was told that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) had promised that the Palestinian Authority would freeze all moves vis-à-vis international organizations for several months, first and foremost its intention to enlist the international criminal court against Israel’s settlement enterprise. Last Wednesday [April 3], the Fatah leadership granted formal approval to this important step en route to renewal of negotiations over a permanent arrangement. This decision was not conditioned on implementation of the Palestinian demand for official Israeli agreement to freeze settlements as a precondition for renewing negotiations.

As a Passover gift, Israel received a decision by the Arab League summit ratifying its 2002 peace initiative. The Palestinian Authority, Israel’s partner for the two-state solution in the spirit of the Arab initiative, received a commitment from the League of an emergency billion-dollar donation to strengthen the standing of the Palestinian peace camp. This can be regarded as a pan-Arab guarantee of the Palestinians’ return to the negotiating table. One must remember that Egypt, currently headed by the Muslim Brotherhood’s President Mohammed Morsi, is a senior member of the Arab League. Before being appointed as the League’s secretary general, Nabil al-Arabi served as Egypt’s foreign minister. One can therefore view Egypt’s support of the Arab Peace Initiative as a clear signal to Hamas not to spoil the party. It appears the message has been received in Gaza. Not only did the Hamas government take vigorous steps to stop the Kassam rocket attacks on Israeli towns and villages, Khaled Meshaal, who leads the movement’s pragmatic line, was re-elected to head the Hamas political bureau, while his sworn rival, Mahmoud al-Zahar, who led the radical line, was ousted.

An additional bud of diplomatic activity emerged last week at the royal palace in Amman. Several days after Obama’s festive visit and before the start of Kerry’s working visit, an important event took place in the Jordanian capital: The Palestinian president, Abu Mazen, formally granted King Abdullah II the important title of “Guardian of the Holy Places in Jerusalem.” This is one of the central articles in the surprising agreement they signed on March 31. In order to understand the significance of this step, one should remember that Yasser Arafat, considered the charismatic all-powerful leader of the Palestinian people, vehemently refused to grant this coveted title to the King of Jordan — a title which heightens prestige throughout the Islamic world. The move by Abbas, who is considered in Israel as a “weak leader,” even surprised most of his closest advisers.