It would --- be funny if the situation wasn't so serious. To the naked eye, it appears that they each wanted to give the other precedence in going through the door first. However, throw in complex Peace Talks and every move is like a chess piece. One of them is trying to play Host by "bringing up the rear" and thereby get the upperhand. Arafat is obviously not happy that he's being literally strong-armed through the door before Barakat. Obvious power-play that would have best been avoided. Threre's the aspect of middle eastern culture where the lesser person is ushered through the door first but judging from the comments, this may not be accurate. Optics!

Source author: Marie Betts-Johnson mbj@ipicalifornia.com