Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert & Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Reportedly Discuss Peace Plan Likud MK Yuval Steinitz: ‘Olmert’s West Bank Withdrawal Scheme Will Push Israel Back To Auschwitz Lines’ While Olmert & Abbas Were Meeting in Jerusalem, Palestinian Terrorists Launch More Qassam Rockets At Sderot
Palestinian Issues
STRATEGIC QASSAM vs. DIPLOMATIC BLITZ
Maj. Gen. (res.) Shalom Harari: ‘Qassam Rocket That Hits Crowded Israeli Kindergarten Or Synagogue Will Trigger Massive IDF Operation ‘ ‘Upcoming International Peace Conference Has Slim Chance Of Success Because Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Has No Control Over His Own Fatah Terrorists On West Bank’ ‘Palestinian Public Opinion Terrorized By Hamas’
BARAK BRAKES ON OLMERT
Defense Minister Barak Opposes Prime Minister Olmert’s Plan To Lift West Bank Checkpoints Olmert & Barak Appear To Be On Collision Course But Will Likely Reach Modus Vivendi For Short Term Labor Cabinet Minister Ben Eliezer: ‘Palestinian Suicide Bombers Will Again Threaten Israeli Civilians If Vital Checkpoints Are Lifted’
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE TRAIN
Olmert & Peres: ‘Israel Will Be Initiating New Moves To Advance Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process’ At Joint News Conference, Israeli Prime Minister Appears to Co-Opt Labor’s Approach To Two-State Solution Egyptian & Jordanian Foreign Ministers: ‘Arab World Is Ready For Peace With Israel In Return For Total Withdrawal To 1967 Lines’
GOING LAST MIDDLE EAST MILE
U.S. President George Bush Recruits Moderate Arab States In Last Chance Attempt To Rescue Israeli-Palestinian Peace Accord Bush To Palestinians: ‘You Must Choose Between Hamas & Palestine You Can’t Have Both’ Bush To Israelis: ‘Forget About Settlements & Develop Negev and Galilee’
SECOND THOUGHTS ON LEBANON WAR
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Signals Winograd Findings Will Not Force Him To Resign On Anniversary Of Second Lebanon War, Israeli Mood Now Seeks Security Leading To Peace Not Oslo Approach Former Defense Minister Amir Peretz: ‘Second Lebanon War Revealed IDF Was Not Ready For Major Ground War, Now It Is’
ZERO TOLERANCE TO GAZA TERROR
Defense Minister Ehud Barak Has Ordered Carefully Calibrated Campaign Against Terrorism From Gaza Barak Appears Determined To Prevent Hamas Turning Gaza Into Iranian Forward Base As Hezbollah Did In South Lebanon Israel Permits Tons Of Food Supplies & Drugs To Be Shipped Into Gaza
OLMERT’S CALCULATED RISKS
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert : ‘I’m Ready To Take Calculated Risk & Lift Some Israeli Checkpoints On the West Bank To Help Shore Up Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ ‘IDF Maneuvers ON Golan Heights Are Routine & Israel Has No Intention Of Attacking Syria’ Opposition Leader Bibi Netanyahu: ‘Talk Of Palestinian State Will Lead To Establishing Iranian State On Israel’s Borders’
TONY BLAIR & PALESTINE
Maj. Gen (res) Shalom Harari: ‘ We See No Organized Campaign By President Mahmoud Abbas To Confiscate Illegal Weapons On West Bank’ ‘ Tony Blair Will Be Unable To Make Any Economic Or Political Progress As Long As Hundreds Of Thousands Of Rifles Remain In Hands Of Palestinian Civilians’
UPSTAGING SHARM EL SHEIK
Hamas Tries To Upstage Sharm El Sheik Summit By Releasing Recording Of Abducted IDF Soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Counters By Announcing Good Will Gesture To Fatah On Release Of 250 Of Its Prisoners