Palestinian rivals ‘agree’ to talk - Israel/Hamas/Fatah/Russian & Settlers/Why UK?
24/3/08
Hamas and Fatah have signed a Yemeni-sponsored reconciliation deal in Sanaa and agreed to hold direct talks. The two sides, however, already disagree on the declaration’s meaning. PLO and Hamas representatives reached the agreement in the Yemeni capital on Sunday after negotiations appeared close to collapse. The factions had agreed the previous day to continue reconciliation talks after a personal plea by Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s president, to end the crisis that erupted after Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in June last year. Azzam al-Ahmed, a Fatah politician, and Mousa Abu Marzouk, the Hamas chief negotiator, signed the deal in Saleh’s presence at the Yemeni presidential headquarters.
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BDD4771D-88F4-4921-BF1B-63FF268D9A92.htm
Russia urges halt to settlements
24/3/08
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has criticised Israel’s continued settlement activity in the West Bank and urged an end to the blockade of Gaza. He called on Israel to follow through with a promise made at a US-sponsored conference in November, aimed at reviving a 2003 roadmap calling for a halt to the building of settlements. But Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, said earlier this week that Israel will continue to build in annexed east Jerusalem. Lavrov made his comments after talks with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/08330CEA-23D0-4DBE-80C6-F01573D070F9.htm