Chances of talks

Ever since Abbas asked the Arab League on July 28 whether he should move from the indirect talks to the direct stage, there have been optimistic mutterings in the international community suggesting real negotiations would commence sooner rather than later.

This hopefulness seems to have culminated on Sunday with a meeting between Abbas and one of the United States' envoys, David Hale.

Local media suggested Hale came to the meeting with a formal invitation for Abbas to attend direct talks. That letter was presented with the backing of the international peace Quartet -- the US, UN, European Union and Russia -- the main sponsor of the peace process.

"I think the Palestinians will enter direct peace talks with Israel because they have no option to refuse or stand up to the pressures imposed upon them (by the U.S.)," Naji Shurab, a political science professor at the Gaza-based al-Azhar University, said on Sunday.

What Abbas has been seeking and continues to do so are U.S. guarantees that will grant Palestinians peace of mind regarding the seriousness of the talks. The Palestinian leader does not want to appear weak or face the possibility of the collapse of the negotiations because that will play into the hands of his domestic political rivals.

Here, there is a shared concern with Israel. The organization most likely to wrestle control of the Palestinian areas from Abbas ' Fatah party is the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas.

Israeli professor of political and American studies David Ricci agreed that the talks are just around the corner. If the formal announcement is not made this week then it will come in the next fortnight, the Hebrew University academic told Xinhua.