To compound Mr Abbas's problems, tensions rose this week in one of the most volatile spots in the world, the Haram al-Sharif Mosque, called the Temple Mount by Israelis, in occupied East Jerusalem, holy to both Jews and Muslims.

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Over the past six months, the religious part of the conflict seems to have waxed, not waned: Palestinians have called their latest uprising the al-Aqsa intifada, after the mosque on Temple Mount.

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So while then-prime minister Ehud Barak for instance claimed that his offer to cede the Temple Mount was contingent on the signing of a peace treaty, when the so-called Middle East Quartet issued its road map plan for peace, Barak's ostensibly canceled offer was the starting point of negotiations.

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