Night has fallen on Tahrir Square, after pro-Mubarak thugs attacked the demonstrators today. By late afternoon, things quieted down somewhat. But I feared that night would enable the government forces to occupy the square. At this point, control of the square seems to be the issue. For unknown reasons, the army is standing by, doing nothing.

Watching Al Jazeera English TV. From its videos, it looks like the people have pushed their shield wall north, up by the Museum. The video also shows the government thugs have put up a defensive shield wall on a side street. In the background, lots of people (affiliation unknown) seem to be watching the fight, as if it were a football match.

Telephone reports are conflicting, but one guy claimed that the people are in full control of the square and all the other entrances, with reinforcements streaming in.

This view would suggest that the pro-government thugs, are in fact, being squeezed out and are almost under siege.

More to come …

Israel’s late Foreign Minister famously quipped that the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Now, it looks like there will be sea changes in Egypt and perhaps the Middle East. For the past thirty years, Israel has enjoyed peace with its southern neighbor, the largest & most powerful Arab country, a peace made possible largely by Anwar Sadat’s vision, American dollars, and America’s security umbrella.

Thus Israel’s peace for the past thirty years has been a tremendous opportunity to make peace with the Palestinians. An opportunity to reach some compromise with them. The extent of the compromises that the Palestinians were willing to make have been made public by Al Jazeera in the so-called Palestinian Papers. Essentially the Palestinians would have settled for a symbolic solution to the Right of Return; they would have given up parts of East Jerusalem; they would have accepted some of the large Israeli settlements; etc. etc.

So, I wonder what Mr. Eban would make of all this. How many opportunities for peace have the Israelis missed over the past thirty years?

If Egypt swings away from its peace with Israel, no one will regret more than the Israelis themselves that they missed such an extended opportunity to defuse the conflict by coming to terms with the Palestinians.