The death of Morocco's King Hassan has increased the role of President Mubarak of Egypt as a key mediator in the Middle East. Coming just five months after the death of King Hussein of Jordan, the death of King Hassan has robbed the region of two Arab leaders who enjoyed enough respect to advocate Israel's acceptance in the Arab world.
King Hassan's funeral forced the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, to postpone talks with both the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and Mr Mubarak, although the Israeli leader and the Palestinian President met on the sidelines of the funeral. Those sideline meetings were given added significance when Mr Barak met President Bouteflika in the first such contact between the leaders of Israel and Algeria and brought Mr Barak support from an unexpected quarter for his peace moves.
However, President Hafez al-Assad of Syria was notably absent from yesterday's funeral in Rabat, despite speculation that he might have used the occasion to meet Mr Barak. The two neighbours have exchanged compliments in separate newspaper interviews since Mr Barak's election in May. The signals from Damascus over the past few weeks offer the most serious hope yet that the conflict in the Middle East is well on its way to a comprehensive resolution.
After the three-year stalemate under Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Barak's commitment to making the peace process work is refreshing. Mr Barak has moved quickly. Already he has visited President Clinton in the US and the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, in London. Israel's friends in the West are impressed.
On the other hand, with the collapse of Russian patronage, Damascus is anxious to attract Western investment, and Mr Assad is equally anxious to smooth the path for the succession of his son Bashar. The Syrian leader's demands are simple enough: he wants the entire Golan Heights, lost to Israel in 1967. The 17,000 Golan settlers have different values and hopes than the more zealous West Bank settlers, and may be easier to buy off - with US funding - if Mr Barak can win wider support for his policy of swapping territory for peace.
But Mr Barak cannot continue postponing an agreement with the Palestinians on implementing the Wye accords while waiting for Mr Assad, who remains in the wings. Mr Barak has tried to allay the fears of Palestinians that they are going to be abandoned in favour of Israel's hoped-for talks with Syria. And yet Palestinians remain uneasy.
Israel needs to be generous and imaginative in negotiating with Mr Arafat over territory, borders, Jerusalem and refugees. When Mr Barak and Mr Arafat meet again tomorrow, Mr Barak will emphasise his desire to move quickly to those sensitive "final status" issues. But the Palestinian President will emphasise that he cannot weather further delays. Mr Arafat does not want to be postponed or put off. Palestinians cannot wait another 15 months for Israel to implement an agreement reached last October, and hopes for the Middle East peace process cannot survive that long without the Wye agreement being implemented.
Mr Barak has impressed his friends in the West. Now he needs to impress his potential friends in the Middle East.