At the end of August, about 10 days before the Jewish New Year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked his people to put him in contact with an Israeli political personage with whom he is closely acquainted. He had served as Knesset member and minister in numerous Israeli governments, had recently resigned from politics, is well-connected with the top political brass and is closely familiar with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Abbas asked the man to visit the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah. The man willingly agreed. Several days later, they met; it was around a week before the end of the Hebrew year.

In private discussions after the tête-à-tête, speaking on condition of anonymity, the Israeli intermediary described Abbas as an isolated, gloomy, despairing leader who is counting the days and begging for help. He is considering resigning from his post, to “call the Israeli General Head of Command and give him the keys to the West Bank.” Abbas is not capable of giving hope to his people, and he reports “total disconnection from the Israelis," saying, "They are making fools out of us. I can’t do a thing without Israel’s approval. Everything is stuck. No negotiations, agreements aren’t implemented. I have no choice left.”

The intermediary tried to encourage him and talk him out of his bad spirits. He begged Abbas not to resign. “It will cause all the other people who still believe in the peace process to despair,” he told him. “Also, there’s no one to replace you. A catastrophe can happen if you quit.” And then Abbas reportedly told him, “I want to make peace. I know that the Israelis don’t believe me, but I really do want it. I know that if I do it, my fate could be like that of [Egyptian President Anwar] Sadat and [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin, but I don’t care.”

Abbas asked him to carry this message to Netanyahu. The Israeli intermediary willingly agreed. The very next day, he sat across from Netanyahu in Jerusalem and made his report. “The situation is dangerous,” he told the prime minister. “It leads us nowhere. [Abbas] is desperate. There might be an explosion. What, do you really want to run the West Bank on your own?” he asked Netanyahu. In the course of the conversation, the Israeli raised a proposition. “Let’s organize a secret meeting between the two of you, in my house. No one will know about it. Now, immediately, within the next two days, even before Rosh Hashana. What do you say?”