Arab FMs' meeting aimed at building consensus

I have spent the past week in Gaza and just arrived in Tel Aviv. The mood here in Tel Aviv is hawkish. Yesterday my best guess was that Israel would attack Gaza Friday (tomorrow). Didn't know of course but do know that Egypt has told all journalists who came in from Rafa to leave today because Rafa will be closed from Friday - which is ominous. Ordinary people in Gaza are very frightened.

Today I am more upbeat. The Israeli negotiating team flies to Cairo this morning and it looks like disaster may have been averted and a cease-fire is about to be signed after all. Which means that the closure of Eretz is just the Egyptians getting tough alongside the Israelis and they will then offer the re-opening of Eretz as a carrot in return for Palestinian - Palestinian peace.

Inside Gaza Hamas popularity has dropped to an all time low - they are now just as unpopular as Fatah. The only group to have increased in popularity (other than the independents) is Islamic Jihad.

Meanwhile the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in Abu Dahabi remains as ineffective as might be expected:

Kuwait News Agency - 05 February, 2009
Dubbing the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi as preplanned and not done impromptu, Egyptian foreign minister Ahmad Abulgheit on Wednesday emphasized the utter need for Arab-Arab conciliation ahead of a regular Arab summit scheduled to take place at a later date in Doha. He said it was imperative that the Palestinians get the chance to put their house in order, noting that the status of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) be kept as is and the Egyptian and Arab peace initiatives be upheld.