Now that the talks between the prime ministers of Palestine and Israel with President Bush in Washington are over, the question is where to go from here. In the past, such encounters in Washington yielded little.

Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas managed to make some gains. Foremost was his success in driving home to the US how skewed Israel’s position toward security actually is. While Ariel Sharon withheld any credit for the Palestinian Authority or Abbas’ Cabinet in securing a halt to operations inside Israel — claiming instead that this was achieved primarily through Israeli security forces and the United States — the PA has restored calm in Palestinian territories, succeeding where Israel’s massive military might had failed. The implications of this cannot be overstated. Israel will never be able to realize security through force of arms. And in reaching an understanding with the Palestinian factions over a truce, Abbas delivered on his commitment under the first phase of the road map, thereby nullifying Israeli demands that he dismantle Palestinian resistance organizations.

Then there are the financial gains Abbas obtained for the Palestinians. In addition to an immediate $20 million to assist the PA in rebuilding the Palestinian economy and laying the foundations for an independent state.

In general, though, meager progress was made on urgent issues like the release of Israeli-held prisoners and the dismantling of Jewish settlements. This was because Bush tried to do the impossible: Please both his guests. The formula was most evident on the issue of the security fence that Israel is building, carving chunks out of the West Bank. Palestinians had been encouraged when, after meeting Abbas, Bush publicly criticized the fence. But then, to their anger, Sharon came out of his meeting with Bush insisting he would press on with building the fence.

The wall, which Sharon is desperate to complete, represents one of the most insidious measures undertaken by Israel as it usurps yet more Palestinian land from the ever-shrinking patch of post-partition Palestinian territory. The wall will extend for more than 1,000 kilometers. The Green Line marking the 1967 borders was no longer than 360 kilometers, which confirms Israel’s plan to incorporate Palestinian towns and villages beyond the Green Line. These are the areas in which Israel has implanted large numbers of settlements which it has no intention of dismantling.

With the visits to Washington over, the hard work begins again. Though the future is open, moves toward a just settlement and peace would mean a radical shift from Israel’s relentless drive to conquer the Palestinian people. From a historical perspective, a reversal seems highly unlikely.