Left in the lurch by his Arab League brethren, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is now under enormous American pressure to unconditionally renew direct peace negotiations with Israel.
Analysts and politicians in Ramallah believe he will cave in, thus undermining his credibility for tough concessions that will be needed further down the line.
Mr Abbas had hoped the Arab League, which met in Cairo on Thursday, would back up his r
efusal of direct bilateral talks unless Israel first commits to borders for a viable Palestinian state and halts its expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
But the league, which is dominated by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, calculated that it is more important to please United States president Barack Obama than Abbas. It backed a resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, even though it said the timing and conditions should be up to the Palestinians.
Israel and the United States were quick to welcome the Arab League move, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel was prepared to launch "direct and honest discussions" with the Palestinian Authority within a matter of days.
But it would be a mistake to believe the Arab League move or the mustering of American pressure on Mr Abbas alone brings peace closer. For that, a stronger, more credible Mr Abbas is needed rather than a hapless leader without anything to show in the way of concessions from Israel.
After two decades in which peace talks were accompanied by further Israeli consolidation in the West Bank, Palestinians have little faith in the '"peace process." The architect of the 1993 Oslo agreement on self-rule, Mr Abbas for years kept negotiating while Israeli bulldozers did the real talking on the ground.
But after Mr Obama's inauguration, Mr Abbas decided to has stake his credibility on there being a full settlement freeze before any direct talks, mistakenly believing the incoming US president would back him.
A freeze is something Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted although he agreed to a limited slow-down in settlements. However, this week Mr Netanyahu said he would not extend the slowdown past its 26 September expiry. Doing so would be impossible politically and would bring down his coalition, he said.
Direct negotiations have been suspended since Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, beginning in late 2008.
Mr Netanyahu has in mind that hard-line right-wing MPs may bolt if he extends the slowdown.
