Palestinian and Israeli officials have been getting together to discuss restarting peace talks. Leaders on both sides have personal incentives for hammering out some kind of peace deal. Israeli prime minister Barak has called for new elections in February and his only chance of winning is by obtaining peace with the Palestinians. Arafat, the Palestinian leader risks losing power to armed militias if he cannot bring peace to his inflamed, but economically devastated, population. The violence continues, with 4-5 Palestinians a day getting killed and several dozen injured. Israeli deaths are about one or two a week, mostly from settlers being shot at in Palestinian areas.
