Haniyeh offers a 20 year ceasefire for a state

Palestinian PM, Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas, offers Israel a 20 years Houdna (ceasefire) if Israel will retreat to the 1967 borders and allow a Palestinian state to be established there.

Haniyeh spoke on Palestinian television after a few days of severe conflict between Hamas and Fatah.

Haniyeh rejected Abu Mazen's decision to call for early elections and said that Abu Mazen contributes to the isolation of the Palestinian government. Haniyeh declared that he returned from his diplomatic tour and managed to secure 700 million dollars for the Palestinians.

Haniyeh called for inner unity against the Israeli occupation and an end to internal conflict.

In today's fighting between Hamas and Fatah dozens were injured and at least 5 were killed.

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Assad and Olmert deny any letter

The letter which Syrian President, Bashar Assad, supposedly sent to Israeli PM, Ehud Olmert in which he urged him to begin negotiations without any preliminary conditions and promised to restrain Hamas and to stop weapon smuggling to Hezbollah through Syria, simply did not exist.
Both Olmert and Assad denied any such letter. Olmert was the first to deny it through his aides earlier this morning and he was backed by Assad this evening while on a state visit to Russia.
The "letter" was reported by Arab television this morning and aroused enthusiastic responses in the Israeli political arena.
Throughout the day analysts doubted the existence of such a letter as it appeared that Assad would never have promised so much before negotiations even begun.


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Olmert met with King Abdullah

PM Olmert met with Jordan's king Abdullah secretly in Amman. The two discussed the frozen peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and the need to get it going once again.

Abdullah is concerned that a deterioration in the situation in the West Bank may start a surge of refugees to his realm. Jordan has a large population of Palestinians and the regime is worried that more will destabilize its control.

Abdullah called on Israel to examine favorably the initiative of the Arab League which called for a complete peaceful solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Abdullah expressed support of the establishment of a Palestinian state and said that it is the only solution that will bring peace and stability for the entire region.

The two also discussed trade issues between Israel and Jordan.

Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994.

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Casualty toll in Gaza continues to rise

In fighting during the morning in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas, at least 3 fighters were killed and over 20 injured.
In a skirmish close to Shifa hospital in Gaza city, a Hamas operative was killed and at least 11 other people were injured. Later, 2 Fatah fighters were killed in another incident and five other were injured.
Another assassination attempt was made by Hamas. The intended target this time was Fatah appointed governor of Gaza. Shots were fired on his car but he was not injured.
In the West Bank, IDF troops killed a terrorist near the city of Tul-Karem. In the terrorist's car the soldiers discovered two bombs ready for detonation.

This is 1938 and Iran is Germany

In a meeting with 60 ambassadors and foreign emissaries, former PM, Benjamen Netanyahu, urged his audience to not stand idly by but to act to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear state. Netanyahu compared Iran to Nazi Germany and the time to 1938, the eve of World War II, meaning that it is not to late to stop the Iranian program but that time is indeed running short.

Netanyahu said that the longer the stick with which the Iranians would be threatened the lesser the chances of its ever being put to use.

According to a review given by head of Mossad yesterday, Iran will achieve a fully functional bomb by 2009, giving roughly a 1000 days to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear state.

Iran's president has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the map.

So far, efforts to impose sanctions on Iran have failed due to the opposition of Russia and China.

Figthing resumed in Gaza

Earlier this morning fighting resumed between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip. At least one man was killed and 11 were injured in a bloody morning which followed a relatively peaceful night. Yesterday the clashes between the factions continued despite a ceasefire declaration of the day before. A Kidnapping War was started yesterday in Gaza as a former Fatah minister was taken by Hamas operatives. The minister was subsequently released but his abduction is still viewed as an escalation of the conflict. Several lower ranked officials of both sides are still held.
President Abu Mazen of the Fatah may come to the Gaza Strip today and perhaps meet with Hamas PM Haniyeh in another effort to put an end to the violence.