Hamas rocket attacks slow, but Israelis say fighting isn't over
BBC Mar 10, 08 8:16 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Israel is reining in its Gaza offensive after seeing a big reduction in cross-border rocket fire over the weekend, the BBC reports. But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said there was no truce in place. “The fighting is ongoing and will at times increase or decrease,” he said, saying that a lapse in rocket fire would lead to “quiet day(s).”
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Construction will 'undermine peace talks,' Palestinians warn
Reuters Mar 10, 08 4:05 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Israel has approved plans to begin or complete 750 new homes in the occupied West Bank, posing yet another hurdle to the success of US-brokered Mideast peace talks, Reuters reports. Palestinian leaders immediately condemned the new construction in the Jewish settlement of Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem. "This will undermine the talks," warned a chief negotiator.
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Rice urges Abbas: don't let extremists win
New York Times Mar 5, 08 3:00 AM CST
(Newser)
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to commit to resuming peace talks with Israel yesterday despite entreaties from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the New York Times reports. "I call on the Israeli government to halt its aggression so the necessary environment can be created to make negotiations succeed," Abbas said.
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Says negotiations won't resume until offensive on Palestinians ends
Reuters Mar 2, 08 1:24 PM CST
(Newser)
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Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas halted peace talks with Israel today “until [Israeli] aggression is stopped,” Reuters reports. Abbas ordered the suspension of the US-brokered talks as Israel’s Gaza offensive continued and the Palestinian death toll topped 100. But Israeli PM Ehud Olmert showed no sign of relenting, calling Israel's actions self-defense.
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Five more killed in strike on Hamas prime minister's offices
BBC Mar 2, 08 6:00 AM CST
(Newser)
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In the face of blistering UN condemnation, defiant Israeli officials vowed to continue the Gaza offensive as five more people were killed in an air strike on the offices of the Hamas prime minister today. "Israel has no intention of stopping the fight against the terrorist organizations even for a minute," said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after the UN decried the "excessive" force of the offensive.
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UPDATED
Rice voices concern after retaliatory strikes kill militants, baby
Reuters Feb 28, 08 11:15 AM CST
(Newser)
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Israel hit targets inside the Gaza Strip today, including an apparent warning attack near the Hamas PM's home, after a rocket killed an Israeli student, Reuters reports. Two days of violence have left 17 Palestinians dead, including a 6-month-old baby who died when a strike on a Hamas-run ministry damaged nearby buildings. Condoleezza Rice decried the strikes' civilian toll after meeting with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert in Tokyo.
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No change in former Israeli PM's condition, doctors not optimistic
Jerusalem Post (Israel) Feb 27, 08 3:55 AM CST
(Newser)
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Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon turned 80 yesterday, still in a coma from a massive stroke in January 2006. Family members gathered at the hospital to mark the occasion, the Jerusalem Post reports. Among them was his eldest son, Omri, due to start a seven-month jail sentence today for illegally raising funds for one of his dad's campaigns.
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Palestinians want to discuss issue Israelis say isn't on the table
Reuters Feb 19, 08 6:14 AM CST
(Newser)
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Peace talks between Israel and Palestinians were set to resume today as leaders were already entangled in a first major clash: over whether or not they agreed that Jerusalem would be part of the discussion. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has claimed the Palestinians agreed to put off discussing Jerusalem. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insisted they have not.
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New Israeli housing
in future capital
creates controversy
Haaretz (Israel) Feb 12, 08 12:20 PM CST
(Newser)
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The contentious issue of post-Annapolis Israeli settlement has flared up again after the government began construction of hundreds of new homes in East Jerusalem, the putative capital of an independent Palestine. Although PM Ehud Olmert has frozen construction of new homes in the West Bank, the housing minister said today the freeze doesn't apply to East Jerusalem, reports Haaretz .
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Minister sets sights
on 'declaration'
with Palestine
New York Times Feb 11, 08 7:06 PM CST
(Newser)
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Israel and Palestine probably won't sign a peace deal this year but could agree on a "declaration of principles," a top Israeli minister said today. The announcement by Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon follows weeks of warnings that a peace treaty could topple Israeli's coalition government, and that Palestine's president lacks the influence to fulfill such a deal.
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'Grave' failures cited,
but no calls to resign
Guardian (UK) Jan 30, 08 12:30 PM CST
(Newser)
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An Israeli panel cited “grave shortcomings” in its final report on Ehud Olmert’s leadership during the 2006 Lebanon war, but said Israel's PM acted “on substantial grounds" and in what he felt was in the nation’s best interest, the Guardian reports. Olmert, who had expected the report to call for his resignation, was said to be relieved at the unexpectedly balanced appraisal.
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Israeli PM steels for harsh criticism of his 2006 conduct in Lebanon
Times (UK) Jan 30, 08 3:36 AM CST
(Newser)
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Ehud Olmert is bracing for a vital challenge to his career as prime minister of Israel, when a report damning his conduct in the 2006 Lebanon war is released later today. The report could topple Olmert's precarious coalition government, the Times of London reports. An interim version of the report already triggered calls for Olmert's resignation.
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