“It is just a meeting and it is just a beginning,” IANS quoted Saber Rabie, a political professor at Cairo University, as saying, on the Sharm El-Shaikh summit.

“Those who try to depict a rosy picture should bear in mind that a ceasefire is only one of many tough issues the two sides should deal with, actually the least difficult one.”

Following the summit, political analysts, observers and Palestinian resistance factions warned Sharon’s ceasefire pledge was not clear enough, leaving the door open to problems that may lead to a fresh flare up in confrontations.

“The main issues of concern to Palestinians were not even mentioned. There was no clear pledges on (releasing) all Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, no word on (Israeli) withdrawal, stopping of settlements or dismantling the separation wall,” Palestinian MP and former negotiator Hanan Ashrawy, told Al-Jazeera Tuesday.

Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, himself acknowledged the two sides had different opinions on several major issues that would surely pop up in any negotiations for a comprehensive peace deal, including the status of East Jerusalem, the border issue, settlements and the refugees.

“We've got a really tough road ahead. We can't pin too much hope on the summit.”

Analysts told IANS that with a ceasefire declared, both sides have a lot of concrete work to do to shore up the agreement.

Famous British writer, Robert Fisk, was more blunt in touching on what really happened in Sharm El-Shaikh though.

Under the title, “There will be no Middle East Peace without Justice”, he touched on a core issue that no one at the summit seemed to pay attention to. “At no point yesterday did anyone mention occupation. Like sex, it had to be censored out,” Fisk wrote in the Independent.

Another article, also in the Independent, touched on what Sharon should do to help turn “the fragile truce” into a real push for more concrete steps along the thorny path for peace.

“Abbas, facing internal political challenges, needs more than that (Appointing a US security coordinator). First, he needs the “confidence building measures” that Sharon spoke of to have an impact on the lives of Palestinians. That may mean Israel relenting on its determination not to release some long-serving prisoners "with blood on their hands", according to the daily.

“It will certainly mean the dismantling of checkpoints and closures, which bring economic and social misery. But equally it will mean the maintenance of political momentum. And here there was little encouragement for Mr Abbas this week.

“Based on its inclusion in phase one of the road map, the Palestinians see the issue of "dismantling the terrorist infrastructure" and disarming the factions as linked to, and facilitated by, a political process. The more the Palestinian state begins to take shape on the horizon, the easier it will be to fulfill that obligation. The subtext of Mr Sharon's approach is that it is a precondition of the road-map process starting.

“The contradiction in the US position appears to be this: Ms Rice and President Bush genuinely want Mr Abbas, and the road map, to succeed. Whether in a Freudian slip or not, Ms Rice seemed to contrast the positions of Sharon and Abbas when she said on Monday "we know" that the Palestinians accept the road map and that Mr Sharon "has said" that he does so.

“But at the same time the US also shows little sign of wanting to undermine the belief of many around Mr Sharon that "final status" issues can be put off ­ perhaps for years. That could deprive Mr Abbas of the very momentum he needs.”