At long last, hope.

Byline: The Register-Guard

The Mideast is one part of the globe where warming is welcome, if it produces any hint of a thaw in the frozen prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Lately, the hints just keep on happening.

When's the last time Israeli and Palestinian officials have had to issue announcements calling reports of a Mideast peace agreement premature?

When's the last time an Arab leader has called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the Palestinians' best hope for peace?

When's the last time a Palestinian leader ordered the government-controlled media to stop broadcasting material that could incite hatred against Israel?

When's the last time a Hamas leader has said that Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, would accept a Palestinian state in the occupied territories and a long-term truce with Israel?

All of these positive signs have occurred in the wake of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death in Paris last month. They signal a sea change in the prospects for peace since the beginning of the second intifada more than four years ago.

Reality check: Hard-liners on both sides haven't given up efforts to prevent any kind of peace agreement from succeeding. That means no agreement that can be derailed by a suicide bomber or by an Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied territories will ever get off the launch pad.

But until recently, only the hard-liners had been making headlines. Now there is more than a glimmer of good news emerging regularly as the United States and the European Union try to sustain the momentum for a resumption of peace talks.

The latest head-turning bulletin was a Tuesday announcement from Egypt's state news agency that Egyptian officials had hammered out the framework of an agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By Wednesday afternoon, senior Palestinian and Israeli officials were calling the announcement "premature."

Despite mixed signals about a peace summit, there was a significant agreement reached between Palestinian officials and Israel on how to handle the logistics of the Jan. 9 election to replace Arafat. The two sides have agreed to use the same procedures that were in place for the 1996 elections, ensuring that Palestinians living in East Jerusalem would be able to vote at five polling stations using absentee ballots.

The January voting for president of the Palestinian Authority holds huge significance for the future of the Palestinian people. The race has attracted 10 candidates, but only two are considered contenders.

Mahmoud Abbas, 69, was the first prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. He has met with Sharon and has the potential to be the credible negotiating partner that Sharon insisted Arafat was not.

The problematic candidate is Marwan Barghouti, 45, who is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail after being convicted of ordering attacks against Israelis. He is the most popular figure among younger Palestinians, but Sharon has flatly declared that Barghouti will never be released from prison.

A Barghouti win would be a loss for Palestinian hopes. If Barghouti truly cared about his people, he would withdraw and throw his support behind another candidate.

Should Barghouti remain in the race, it will be up to the Palestinian people to look out for their best interests. For the first time in years, they have a meaningful chance - with U.S. and Israeli support - to chart a course for peace and independence.