Mr. Mubarak had originally opposed the convening of an Israeli-Palestinian meeting before an Arab world summit meeting that is scheduled to open next Saturday.

But less than two weeks before the scheduled Israeli-Palestinian meeting, Saudi Arabia brokered the power-sharing pact: Hamas and Mr. Abbas would politically cohabitate in a national unity government.

Yet Wednesday's decision by Egypt - in close consultation with the PLO - to accept a US mediation plan means that an Israeli-Palestinian meeting is now likely in the New Year.

Almost lost in today's tumult was the arrival of Dennis Ross, the American State Department mediator, to preside over the first formal Israeli-Palestinian meeting in six months.

The Palestinians reportedly moved to stop the unrest ahead of a planned Israeli-Palestinian meeting on Tuesday in Oslo.

By the end of the year the various parties had still not managed to organise a first-stage meeting, of Egyptian, Israeli and US officials, which was supposed to discuss a second-stage Israeli-Palestinian meeting on the proposed elections.

Another Israeli-Palestinian meeting is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

The Oslo process began with Israeli-Palestinian meetings that were kept secret from the Americans, and remained an essentially Israeli-Palestinian endeavor under Israel's Labor Government.

On Saturday night, while the attacks were going on, Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, held the first high-level Israeli-Palestinian meeting since the current conflict began 31 months ago.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected in the region a few days earlier, giving added significance to any top-level Israeli-Palestinian meeting as all the parties explore ways to revive peace talks.