THE announcement looked far from auspicious. John Kerry, America’s secretary of state, stood alone with neither Israelis nor Palestinians at his side as he read a terse statement announcing the resumption of talks between them after a three-year hiatus. What he said was vague and tentative. Officials, but not leaders, would meet “next week or so”, though disagreements on a framework had yet to be bridged, suggesting that Mr Kerry was merely heralding talks about talks. Israel’s media was so unenthusiastic it led with the news of Britain’s royal birth. This was in marked contrast to the twilight of the Bush presidency, when Israeli and Palestinian leaders stood on a red carpet in Annapolis, surrounded by Arab officials.

Details that trickled out later did little to reassure sceptics. Israeli ministers claimed that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, had agreed to abandon a UN campaign for statehood and backed down from demands for a freeze in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. He also failed to win a commitment from Israel on specific future borders. Indeed, as Mr Kerry shuttled back and forth, Israel announced more settlement construction in the West Bank.

Critics of Mr Abbas accused him of weakness. In return for agreeing to talks, he was promised the phased release of 350 prisoners from Israel, to be freed in batches every two months as long as the Palestinians stayed at the negotiating table. There has also been talk of building a hotel or two on the Dead Sea, the lifting of some checkpoints and the development of gasfields off Gaza’s coast. A Western diplomat described these measures as “face-saving”.

What hope there is for the talks rests on the changing attitudes of Israeli right-wingers. Long a major obstacle to a deal, they are for the first time engaged as participants in talks. “We’ve changed,” says Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, which holds 12 Knesset seats. “Fifteen years ago, there was hate. Now we know we have to find a way to live together.” He remains opposed to a Palestinian state but is reassured by a proposed referendum on an agreement. While the result is uncertain, a yes-vote could yet bolster the peace process. Mr Bennett and his allies would flinch from opposing a policy endorsed by a majority of Israelis.