LIKE naughty schoolchildren whose teacher is absent from the classroom, Israelis and Palestinians have been dividing their time in recent weeks between mutual harassment and preparing to blame each other for the mess as soon as US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright arrives.
Unlike the frequent visits to the Middle East of her predecessor, Warren Christopher, which effected little noticeable change, the arrival of Ms Albright in 10 days is crucial to the immediate fate of the peace process.
'I don't think there'll be an explosion in the coming days,' Israeli Chief of Staff General Amnon Shahak said this week after warning of a dangerous buildup of tensions within the Palestinian camp.
Ms Albright is on an emergency rescue mission aimed at trying to save the peace process from disintegrating into a bloody free-for-all.
The goodwill which sustained the peace process has all but disappeared since the last positive gesture in January when Israel agreed to pull out of most of the West Bank city of Hebron.
The subsequent decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an Israeli housing development in a largely Arab area of East Jerusalem despite Palestinian objections led to a suspension of negotiations.
Tensions peaked when suicide bombings in a Jewish marketplace in Jerusalem on July 30 prompted Israel to impose severe sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. The punitive measures were only somewhat softened this week when Israel permitted movement into and out of Bethlehem.