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I was once told by a senior Israeli official: “In the Middle East, if you don't believe in miracles, you are not a realist.” One would be forgiven for believing it will need a miracle for King Abdullah of Jordan's vision of a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arabs to be achieved in the course of this year.

The omens are depressing. Israel has a new hardline Government that has, so far, rejected even the aspiration of a two-state solution. If Binyamin Netanyahu were to confirm that position he would, in effect, be repudiating the strategy pursued by all Israeli governments since the Oslo Accords in 1993.