This is a time of waiting. Both the Palestinian and Israeli leadership are preoccupied with their political problems. There is an election campaign for a Palestinian president. Israel may be on the verge of a government reshuffle or an election if the reshuffle does not work.

There are signs of possible accommodation after these steps, but it is far from clear what the Palestinians will demand and what the Israelis will offer. People in both camps are dusting off their favorite solutions. There has been a decline in incitement to violence in the Palestinian media and elsewhere in the Arab world. Egypt and Jordan are positioning themselves as moderators of a Palestinian-Israeli agreement. Syria is trying to get into the game of peace. Big wigs from the UN, Europe, and a smattering of others including the Chinese, Japanese, Pakistanis, and Iranians are offering their demands, advice, or whatever. The American government is suspicious of others, and has its own sense of how all this should proceed.

Israelis range across a wide spectrum. At one extreme are those who see no hope. They do not trust Palestinians, or perhaps any Arabs, to demand anything less than the complete destruction of Israel-- all at once or in stages. At another extreme are those who say that it is all our fault. If only Ehud Barak had been more sensitive to Yassir Arafat's needs, he could have made a deal at Camp David in 2000. Some who share this perspective say that it is doubtful that the Palestinians can trust the Israelis. How to rely on Jews who cover Palestinian with settlements and roadblocks, and cause no end of problems for civilians wanting to travel from one place to another?

We are still a few important steps from withdrawing the settlements in Gaza and the West Bank that Ariel Sharon sees as part of the solution. His government needs more parties in order to survive. If Likud allows Sharon to invite Labor to join, he will receive with that party pressure to withdraw additional Jewish settlements. If Sharon pursues the ultra-Orthodox SHAS as a partner, he will add to those who are skeptical about any unilateral withdrawal. The settlers remain intense about opposing their removal. They are mounting a campaign of house visits throughout the country, trying to explain to all of us why they should be allowed to stay where they are, and even expand their communities. They will also try to delay or cripple withdrawal by pursuing more compensation than the government can provide via media campaigns, Knesset proposals, and court actions.

Palestinian violence has declined, but not to zero. Israeli incursions to kill bad guys have also declined, but not to zero. Construction of the separation barrier continues on sections that had been halted by appeals of Palestinians and Israelis, but other sections are still tied up in legal proceedings. Individual soldiers and some units are accused of excessive force, unnecessary killing, or insulting activity directed at Palestinians. Like Americans, Israelis are seeing, once again, that war in an age of media saturation is seldom pretty and not always heroic.

Optimists are asking who will be the last soldier or civilian to die in this conflict. The cartoon in today's Ha'aretz does it this way:

"Only one last time, and enough."

Meanwhile, the sun is out. We are in for a day of two of rest from winter, which is not severe in any case. Our most immediate personal problem is how to avoid too many pancakes and jelly donuts during the 8 days of Hanukah. Tonight we will dine with two sergeants: Mattan and Shira. Among with its other functions, the Israeli military is one of the country's greatest matchmakers.