The Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, has agreed to a delay of several weeks in the carrying out of the Wye Plantation land-for-security deal with Israel.
However, the two sides remained at loggerheads over the exact dates for implementation of the US-brokered agreement as well as over Israel's desire to alter the agreement - a dispute which is delaying the planned Middle East visit by the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright.
Mr Arafat welcomed reaffirmation yesterday by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, of his pledge to carry out the Wye deal, starting in early September.
"They promised to implement it in August," Mr Arafat said in Gaza, "but if they say September, we will agree - but only to the exact implementation [of Wye]".
While some Israeli officials suggested that the Palestinian leader's comments were the first sign of his willingness to accept some of Israel's suggestions regarding alterations to Wye, the timetables of Mr Barak and Mr Arafat still seemed to be at odds.
The Israeli leader still appeared to be sticking to a timetable he recently outlined for the execution of Wye, whereby the next West Bank land handover would begin on October 1st, with other nonterritorial aspects of Wye - such as the release of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails - beginning in early September.
However, one of the Palestinian chief negotiators, Mr Saeb Arekat, made it clear that Mr Arafat expected the land handovers to begin promptly on September 1st. Palestinian-Israeli relations have soured over the last two weeks as Mr Barak has tried to persuade Mr Arafat to agree to a delay in the implementation of the final of three Israeli troop redeployments stipulated in Wye.
The Israeli leader fears this will leave Jewish settlements in the West Bank surrounded by Palestinian-controlled territory and exposed to attacks from Palestinian militants.
Mr Arafat, who endured three years of foot-dragging by Mr Barak's hardline predecessor, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, is reluctant to give up on any part of Wye and made it clear yesterday that he still rejected Mr Barak's suggestions for altering the accords.
Mr Barak appears to have requested the delay in Ms Albright's visit on the grounds that she would find herself embroiled in the disagreement between Israel and the Palestinians rather than being able to focus her energies on the primary reason for her visit - attempts to restart Israeli-Syrian negotiations which broke off more than three years ago.
Since taking office in early July, Mr Barak has been seeking to reduce the level of US involvement in Israel's relations with the Palestinians.
The peace deadlock during Mr Netanyahu's term resulted in intense US intervention in the process, but Mr Barak believes that Israel's hand is weakened by having the Americans play referee in its relations with Mr Arafat. By contrast, the Palestinians, who are still unsure of Mr Barak's intentions, have been calling for US intervention in the Wye wrangling.