Yet there are some in the Netanyahu coalition who maintain that the offer should be construed as an opening gambit, presaging flexibility.

ECONOMIST: Israel

The recent softening of Mr Ahmadinejad's tone regarding Iran's biggest foreign-policy challenge, relations with America, may be an opening gambit in the looming election campaign as much as it is a simple response to early overtures from President Barack Obama.

ECONOMIST: Iran's presidential election

The Welsh Government has put in a wide ranging, push-the-boat-out opening gambit, knowing full well that this time, it's the UK Government that's on the spot, and equally suspicious of the motives and benefits to Wales of many of the proposals.

BBC: Commission keeps calm and carries on

These limits would be monitored by international observers, among them Israeli personnel who would still man a key Israeli surveillance station. (Syria's opening gambit is to demand reciprocity for these measures.) Israel will also be seeking billions of dollars in American military aid to reinforce its all-weather monitoring capability and to beef up its air force.

ECONOMIST: Can Israel and Syria make up?