It took a little more than 48 hours for Condoleezza Rice to resolve something that Israeli and Palestinian officials at all levels-and despite the considerable persuasive powers of James Wolfensohn, the former World Bank president who is now a Middle East peace envoy-had been arguing about for five months. After an all-night negotiating session, a deal was announced on the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. With luck, this could lead towards a better, freer life for Palestinians in Gaza-and perhaps even, eventually, for those in the West Bank, the main bit of a hoped-for Palestinian state. And that, in turn, might create the conditions for a push to a final peace settlement.
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