Mission & Justice

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.

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30/4/08

Several Palestinian factions have accepted, in principle, to a ceasefire with Israel. A Palestinian official has said that 11 small groups agreed in Cairo on Wednesday to proposals that include a six-month truce, a prisoner exchange and reopening of the border between Gaza and Israel. Israel will now be asked if it accepts the proposal. The truce, if it is implemented, will initially take effect in Gaza, with a view to being extended to the West Bank. Egyptian security officials mediated the talks with the factions, including Islamic Jihad, but not Hamas or Fatah, who control Gaza and the West Bank respectively.

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