Israeli, Palestinian leaders call off summit

< Prev | 1 | 2

World Blog: Tel Aviv, Israel

Deported Palestinian student can't finish studies

Israeli entrepreneurs make sure every drop of water counts

A Gazan student’s dream hangs in the balance

New bloodshed in Gaza
In new violence, Israeli aircraft struck a group of militants in northern Gaza early Wednesday, killing one, Palestinian officials said. The army said the militants were planting a bomb at the time, and Hamas said in a radio broadcast that the dead man belonged to the group.

In the West Bank, a 67-year-old Palestinian man was killed and seven family members were wounded in an Israeli arrest raid, police said.

The army said troops who entered the man’s house were attacked with a gas canister and other household objects, and opened fire when one of the Palestinians grabbed a soldier’s rifle. Israel said two wanted men inside the house were arrested.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Abbas has proposed a truce agreement that would commit Gaza militants to stop rocket fire for a month, before expanding the cease-fire to the West Bank. Hamas, which shares power with Abbas’ Fatah, and other militant groups have said a truce is out of the question as long as Israel keeps up its attacks and refuses to include the West Bank.

Israel has rejected including the West Bank, especially in light of the latest attacks in Gaza.

Palestinian officials said another key sticking point in the summit preparations was Israel’s refusal to release hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money it collects on behalf of the Palestinians. Israel froze the payments last year after Hamas came to power, demanding the militant group renounce violence and recognize the Jewish state.

Combined with international sanctions against Hamas, the cutoff has left the Palestinian government unable to pay full salaries to tens of thousands of employees.

Olmert open to peace proposal
As the region marks the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war, Olmert wrote that Israel was ready to discuss an Arab peace proposal set forth in 2002 and recently revived.

The proposal offers a comprehensive peace deal with Israel in exchange for a full withdrawal from territories captured in 1967 and a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees. Though it has not rejected the idea, Israel has expressed reservations about a complete withdrawal and opposes resettling Palestinian refugees in Israel.

“I am ready to discuss the Arab peace initiative in an open and sincere manner,” Olmert wrote in The Guardian. “But the talks must be a discussion, not an ultimatum.”

In his article, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of Hamas, said Israel’s fateful error was to “underestimate the resolve of the Palestinians” to fight the Israeli occupation.

“The first step to change this catastrophic climate is for the West to engage with the Palestinian national unity government,” Haniyeh said.

Israel defeated three Arab armies during the six-day war, capturing the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. Palestinians have been determined to establish a state on those lands ever since.

< Prev | 1 | 2