Report: PM promised to build 600 homes in W. Bank settlements
14/5/08
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised to build about 600 housing units in contentious West Bank settlements, a political ally of the prime minister said Wednesday, adding new tensions to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The announcement came shortly before U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Israel to take part in the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary celebrations - and to try to nudge forward Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Palestinians want all of the West Bank as part of their future state. They oppose all Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, saying it undermines peace talks.
See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/983304.html
Hamas delegation to hold talks on Gaza truce next week in Egypt
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff; 15/5/08
Ayman Taha, a spokesman for Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that Egyptian mediator Omar Sulieman has invited Hamas officials to hear Israel’s response to a proposed Egyptian truce deal. “They’ll be in Egypt on Sunday,” Taha said. Suleiman was in Israel this week to discuss the truce efforts. He’s been trying for months to clinch a truce between Israel and Gaza
militants.
See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/983285.html
Israel mulls moving Gaza Strip crossings east to dodge rockets
Amos Harel, Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff, Yuval Azoulay, and Jack Khoury; 14/5/08
The defense establishment is examining the possibility of transferring the Sufa and Kerem Shalom border crossings, through which goods enter the Gaza Strip, deeper into Israeli territory, a move that would enable the crossings to operate continuously despite the recurring threats of Palestinian terrorism. The new plan being mulled by security officials entails moving the inspection points for cargo trucks further east of its current location, out of range of Palestinian projectiles. Sufa and Kerem Shalom have frequently shut down due to Palestinian mortar and terrorist attacks, preventing the delivery of basic humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/982938.html