When former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the White House to sign the Abraham Accords last year, it seemed for a moment as if he and President Donald Trump had broken the Palestinian veto on the peace process. Israelis started flying to Dubai and a spirit of reconciliation appeared to be infecting the region.

Even Netanyahu’s biggest rivals and opponents were forced to congratulate him for what was, by all accounts, a surprising historic breakthrough. Four peace agreements and the normalization of relations with four pragmatic Arab states proved Netanyahu’s claim that it was possible to make peace without the Palestinians. The Abraham Accords were a devastating blow to the Israeli left after half a century of advocating for an end to the occupation and partition of “the land between the river and the sea” into two independent states.

The accords also dealt a heavy blow to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom at least some of the Arab states had abandoned. In a burst of anger, he accused the United Arab Emirates of betraying the Palestinian people. He came off as a leader whose relevance was fading.

Less than a year has passed and the mood has already changed. Last August, Defense Minister Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party went to Ramallah and met with Abbas. And on Oct. 3, Abbas met with a delegation of Israeli ministers from Meretz, which is now part of the ruling coalition, pushing for a return to the negotiating table with Israel.