VOL. XL

No. 40

6 October 1997

The Political Scene

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has succeeded in persuading the Israelisand Palestinians to resume negotiations both on the implementation of the interimagreement (or Oslo 2) and on broader and more difficult issues such as redeployment and"unilateral steps" (for which read settlements). The leader of the PalestinianIslamic group Hamas, Shaikh Ahmad Yasin, has been released by the Israelis and flown toJordan after what appears to be a...