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JERUSALEM - Israel has rebuffed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' request to free Palestinian prisoners ahead of a major Muslim holiday, insisting that Palestinian militants first agree to release a captured Israeli soldier. The decision was at odds with recent overtures by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to bolster the moderate Abbas in the eyes of the Palestinian people, who voted the militantly anti-Israel Hamas group into power nearly one year ago. Separately, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported that Olmert was prepared to hold back-channel talks on a blueprint for a final peace deal, as Abbas has proposed. Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin...

Many in Israel and abroad were surprised when the flags of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority flew side-by-side for the first time, at the official Prime Minister’s Residence. For the first time in the history of the State of Israel, the red, black, green and white flag of the Palestinian Authority stood next to the official state flag of Israel bearing the blue Jewish Star flanked by two stripes on its field of white, last Saturday Night. It was the first of several surprises. The meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas came...

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Wednesday that kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit is alive. ''We are working to release him and we know that he's alive,'' Aboul Gheit told a news conference. (AP)

TEL AVIV -- Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have been using a cease-fire agreed to last month to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip and build Hezbollah-like guerilla armies to confront the Jewish state, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. "In another few months, in the Gaza Strip we will have to deal with military capabilities of the terror organizations that we haven't been familiar with until now," said Sami Turjeman, head of the IDF's operations department. Yossi Beidetz, head of research for the IDF's military intelligence unit, warned Hamas has been using the cease-fire, which went into effect...

The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the Kassam attack on Sderot that wounded two 14-year-old boys on Tuesday evening. The rocket was the seventh to have been fired at Sderot since Tuesday morning. One boy was reported in critical condition, while the second was listed in moderate to serious condition, both with shrapnel wounds. A number of other people were reported in shock. Earlier in the afternoon, Palestinians fired a Kassam from the northern Gaza Strip that landed in an open area of the Sha'ar Hanegev region. No one was wounded, and no damage was caused. The Islamic Jihad took...

The Bush administration has blocked arms and technology transfers to Israel. Israeli and U.S. sources said the State Department has blocked the transfer of weapons and technology to the Jewish state over the last three months. The sources said the halt reflected deteriorating relations between the two countries since the end of the war in Lebanon in August 2006.

Prime Minister Olmert says during weekly cabinet meeting 'it's time to show flexibility, generosity' on issue of prisoners ahead of Eid el-Adha holiday this weekend Ronny Sofer Published: 12.24.06, 16:40 A day following his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tried Sunday to see whether his ministers would be willing to consider the release of Palestinian prisoners in the near future. "It's time to show flexibility and generosity on this issue," Olmert said during a cabinet meeting, "this view may differ from the ones expressed in previous cabinet meetings, but this is my opinion." Olmert reported...

Two leaders expected to discuss possible release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, agreed upon ceasefire and Abbas’ proposal to move up PA elections; meeting apparently at PM’s official residence. (snip) A Palestinian official told Ynet that the meeting between Olmert and Abbas will focus mainly on strengthening the ceasefire and possibly expanding it to include the West Bank. (snip) A Palestinian source told Ynet that "we are hoping that at the end of the meeting Abbas will be able to officially announce that the Palestinians' salaries will be paid." This will occur if an agreement...

Israeli Cabinet ministers urged Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to consider ending a truce that the Palestinians have failed to honor. Israeli media reported that Olmert’s inner “Security Cabinet” would convene next week to consider the appeal, led by Defense Minister Amir Peretz. Palestinian terrorists have launched as many as 50 rockets into Israel since the truce was forged two weeks ago. Peretz’s hometown is Sderot, the southern Israeli town hardest hit by the rocket fire.

Addressing an enthusiastic audience, the Likud leader opined, "Olmert said long ago that we are 'tired of curbing the attacks.' It's not the nation that's tired - Olmert is [the one who is] tired. There is only one thing worse than a nation that has lost faith in its leaders, and that is leaders who have lost faith in their nation." He then called on the prime minister "to vacate the position for a responsible leadership."

Palestinian terror groups launch Qassam rocket from northern Gaza Thursday evening; rocket lands near school in Sderot. Three rockets fired at Israel Thursday morning, following seven rockets launched Wednesday Shmulik Hadad Published: 12.21.06, 18:55 Palestinian terror groups launched a Qassam rocket from northern Gaza on Thursday afternoon. The rocket landed near a school in Sderot. At the present no injuries or damage have been reported. Three Qassam rockets were fired at Israel Thursday morning, following seven rockets launched Wednesday. Two of the rockets fired Thursday landed in Palestinian territory, and one landed in Israel. The Sderot Municipality reported that the...

Israel must take action to strengthen moderate Palestinian camp Ronny Shaked Published: 12.20.06, 12:15 Even the second attempt to enforce the ceasefire in the Territories will not resolve the internal Palestinian crisis that has crossed every red line in recent days. At most, they will achieve a lull that would last a few days until the next wave of violence. This chronic crisis runs deep; it is much more complex and entrenched. It is a struggle between two completely different disciplines; the nationalist school represented by Mahmoud Abbas, and the Islamic school represented by the ruling Hamas movement. The Palestinian...

Six Palestinian missiles explode on Israeli side of Gaza border Wednesday. No one hurt December 20, 2006, 6:23 PM (GMT+02:00) The last three detonated on the Israeli side of the Sufa crossing into Gaza and south of Ashkelon. PM Ehud Olmert said in Jerusalem that Israel cannot stay passive much longer in the face of these attacks. More than 40 missiles have been fired at Israeli civilian locations since the purported ceasefire declared by Palestinian armed groups last month. On the West Bank, two armed Jihad Islami operatives, a Palestinian group sponsored by Iran, were killed resisting Israeli arrest near...

Army official tells Ynet ‘Israel’s policy toward incessant Qassam rocket fire may be interpreted as weakness; IDF calls for pinpoint attacks against rocket-launching areas, Qassam cells increasing Hanan Greenberg Published: 12.20.06, 20:03 A senior Israel Defense Forces official told Ynet Wednesday that “Israel’s policy toward the incessant Qassam rocket fire may be interpreted as a sign of weakness.” Following the launching of some 40 Qassams since the agreed upon ceasefire went into effect, army officials are increasingly calling for retaliation, including pinpoint attacks on rocket-launching area and Qassam cells. Ynet has learned that the IDF recently decided to remove artillery...

JERUSALEM (AP) - A slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Israel's nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis Tuesday for the Israeli leader, who came under criticism from across the political spectrum. In an interview with a German television station broadcast Monday, Olmert appeared to list Israel among the world's nuclear powers, violating the country's long-standing policy of not officially acknowledging that it has atomic weapons. "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map," Olmert said. "Can you say that this is the same level, when you are aspiring to have nuclear...

Israel’s military, which has been accused of abuses in its war against Hezbollah this summer, has declassified photographs, video images and prisoner interrogations to buttress its accusation that Hezbollah systematically fired from civilian neighborhoods in southern Lebanon and took cover in those areas to shield itself from attack. Lebanon and international human rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes ... Israel says that it tried to avoid civilians, but that Hezbollah fired from civilian areas, itself a war crime, which made those areas legitimate targets. In a new report, an Israeli research group says Hezbollah stored weapons in mosques,...

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday evening that "we are a little disappointed by the continuation of Kassam rocket fire at the South by the Palestinians." Earlier in the evening, two Kassam rockets landed by a Sderot cemetery. No one was wounded. Speaking at a meeting with European Union envoys at the Finnish Embassy, Olmert added, "I hope very much that the Palestinians will honor their obligations and stop the fire."

Gaza terrorists fire 2 Kassams at Sderot; none wounded Sheera Claire Frenkel, THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 28, 2006 Hours after IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz sought to deflect responsibility for the cease-fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip, terrorists in northern Gaza violated the day-old agreement by firing two Kassam rockets at Sderot. Both of the rockets landed in an open area, and no one was wounded in the attack.

Report: Israel okays PLO troops in Gaza Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 28, 2006 Israel has agreed in principle to let Jordanian-based Palestine Liberation Organization forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas enter the Gaza Strip to help shore up a 2-day-old truce, military officials said Tuesday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Israel's decision is part of the truce deal that ended five months of fighting in Gaza. The Jordanian-based Badr forces would be deployed along the Israel-Gaza border to beef up Palestinian troops trying...

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that the release of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, held since June by Gaza militants, would lead to the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. "With Gilad Shalit's release and his return safe and sound to his family, the Israeli government will be willing to release many Palestinian prisoners, even those who have been sentenced to lengthy terms," Olmert said. The prime minister, speaking at the grave of Israel's first premier, David Ben-Gurion, in Sde Boker, said that he was extending his hand in peace to the Palestinians, and that he hoped...