Even as they wade through a swamp of unresolved controversies on their interim peace agreement amid distrust exacerbated by a terrorist murder, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasir Arafat face the threat of that agreement’s broader collapse at their summit near Washington this week.

Five years ago this week, Washington was awash in celebration as Yasir Arafat and Yitzchak Rabin shook hands for the first time on the White House lawn.
But Sunday’s anniversary of the Oslo Accords was marked with a notable lack of ceremony and a growing feeling of dread about what may happen on May 4, 1999 — the date “final-status” negotiations, which haven’t even started except for a ceremonial opening session, are due to be completed.