The year 2005.


• 1/10/2005 Palestinians select Abbas as leader by wide margin by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president by a wide margin, who has spoken out against violence and has the backing of the international community, is expected to usher in a new era after four decades of corruption-riddled rule by Yasser Arafat.    Voting was open to everyone.    Israel considers him to be a moderate man and should be given a chance to make peace, not war.
• 1/15/2005 Israel cuts contacts with Palestinian leader, Move in retaliation for deadly attack by AP.
      Jerusalem - Well that did not last long as Palestinian militants killed six Israelis in an attack at a Gaza Strip crossing, resulting in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cut all contact until Abbas moves to halt militant attacks.
• 1/25/2005 Palestinian leader says militants near truce, Israel to cease fire if calm prevails by AP.
  
• 1/30/2005 Groundwork being laid for Mideast summit, Israeli, Palestinian envoys talk security by AP.
      Tel Aviv, Israel - A meeting between Israel's defense minister and a top Palestinian security official went well, Israeli officials said, as the two sides try to reconcile widely differing expectations for an upcoming summit between Sharon and Abbas.
• 2/3/2005 Mideast leaders agree to summit, raise hope for peace, Four-way talks to be held by AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - Egypt invited the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan to a summit next week giving confidence for a peace process and securing a truce.
• 2/7/2005 Rice arrives in Mideast to push for peace plan by AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.S. will ask Israel to make "hard decisions" as it moves toward peace with the Palestinians, and both sides must live up to their promises, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said.    Israel has backed off its long-standing refusal to release Palestinian prisoners accused of violence against Israelis, to aide in the upcoming Mideast summit.    The Fatah movement declared that it will be prepared for a cease-fire with Israel.
• 2/8/2005 Mideast cease-fire is finalized, deal is confirmed on eve of summit by AP.
  
• 2/9/2005 Changes im Mideast raise hopes cease-fire will hold, Earlier efforts were short-lived by AP.
  
• 2/12/2005 Palestinian leader to insist militants uphold cease-fire by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Abbas will meet with militant leaders of the Hamas and Jihad in order to keep his committment of a cease-fire.    The Hamas and Jihad group pledged to stop attacks on Israeli targets, but refrained from joining the cease-fire.    Israel agreed to transfer control of the West Bank town of Jericho to the Palestinians this coming week and return five West Bank towns in three weeks.
• 2/16/2005 Syria under fire for its role in Lebanon by The Washington Post.
      Washington - After months of brewing tensions, the U.S. increased pressure on Syria, joining forces with France and pressing for U.N. action to get Damascus to curtail its military intervention in Lebanon.
• 2/17/2005 Iran and Syria agree to form 'united front' to counter threats by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran and Syria, who both are facing pressure from the U.S. said they will form a "united front" to confront possible threats against them.    Iran will help Syria with economic sanctions against them.    President Bush has labeled Iran as an "axis of evil" with North Korea and prewar Iraq.    Iran has been accused of seeking to produce nuclear weapons, and Syria has been blamed for the assaaination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and aiding anti-Israel militants and supporting insurgents in Iraq.
• 2/25/2005 Syrian troops to move closer to the border in Lebanon by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Syria began moving its troops in lebanon closer to its own border, but the U.S. said that this was not enough and demanded a full withdrawal from the Mideast nation and to end its political interference.
• 2/27/2005 Bombing blamed on Syria, Israel freezes security handover by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Defense Minister blamed Syria and a Palestinian militant group based there for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub and shattered an informal truce, prompting him to freeze plans to hand over security responsibilities in the West Bank.    Syria denied the charges, which broke a two-week period of relative calm, derailing the cease-fire, and sparking new tensions between Israel and Syria.    Abbas calims it was the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, was involved.    Eventually a Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group with members in Lebanon and Syria, claimed responsiblitiy from the Lebanese capital.
• 2/28/2005 Israel says peace moves endangered by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon threatened to freeze peace efforts if the Palestinian leadership does not crack down on militants.
• 3/3/2005 Bush turns up political pressure on Syria, bluntly demands it get out of Lebanon now by AP.
      Arnold, Md. - President Bush demanded in blunt terms that Syria get out of Lebanon, saying the free world is in agreement that Damascus' authority over the political affairs of its neighbor must end now.    Bush said to get out of Lebanon so that good democracy has a chance to flourish as the world speaks with one voice.    Bush also blamed terrorist based in Syria for last week's deadly suicide attack in Israel.
• 3/5/2005 Syria hesitant to sever strategic, political ties by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Syria is reluctant to get out of Lebanon, which has given a strategic card in its conflict with Israel, a source of money and a place for employment of impoverished Syrians.    Hundreds of thousands of Syrians work in Lebanon for higher salaries than they would make at home, much of that money goes back to Syria.    They also fear that civil unrest could spill over into Syria.
• 3/6/2005 Syria ignores U.S. on Lebanon, Assad announces 2-step withdrawal by AP.
      Damascus, Syria - President Bashar Assad ignored the Bush administration's demand that he withdraw Syria's 15,000 troops from Lebanon by May.    Instead he announced a two-step pullback to the Lebanese border to save face with the Syrian parliament and comply with international requirements.    The U.S., France, Britain, Germany and Saudi Arabia criticized that this was unacceptable if not done before Lebanese elections.   
• 4/1/2005 Syria pulls out more troops, tightens its political hold by AP.
  
• 4/1/2005 Abbas orders crackdown on Palestinian militants by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas ordered a crackdown on militants in Ramallah after gunmen fired at his compound in an escalation of tensions over his efforts to establish control.
• 4/12/2005 Bush, Sharon pessimistic about peace, Israeli voices security fears by AP.
  
• 4/12/2005 Bush says Israel must not expand settlements, Sharon says he'll abide by Mideast peace plan by AP.
  
• 4/15/2005 Abbas orders consolidation of competing Palestinian security forces by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas ordered a consolidation of competing security forces under a unified command, a step toward meeting a key U.S. and Israeli demand.    More than a dozen Palestinian security organizations have long operated as independent militias, contributing to rising lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and limiting their effectiveness.    By consolidating these forces that can be streamlined and directed toward halting violence to renew peace negotiations.
• 4/23/2005 Delay in Gaza pullout expected by Israel to move 9,000 settlers by AP.
  
• 4/27/2005 Syria out, but Lebanon faces questions by The New York Times.
      Riyaq, Lebanon - Now that the last Syrian troops left, ending a military presence that helped Syria control Lebanon and confront Israel through proxy militias, some fear they will still exercize influence over politics.
• 5/1/2005 Stirrings of Democracy, Mideast activists taste success by The Washington Post.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Syria is out.    The prospects of secretarian violence still shadows Lebanon, and crackdowns against dissent threaten reform movements in Egypt, while Saudi Arabia and other autocratic strongholds in the Middle East are taking only the most cautious steps toward democracy.    But across the region, political reformers are benefiting from the unifying forces of technology and mass media.    These are political Islamic activists in some cases, Communists or Arab secular nationalists in others.    Many are united only in their common desire for fair elections, free speech and political rights.
      President Bush says the policy of the U.S. is to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture.    But many democracy advocates in the region are skeptical of U.S. intentions, even though the U.S. is watching those who crackdown on them.
• 7/6/2005 Israel plans huge troop deployment in pullout by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel plans to send 45,000 troops to evacuate 9,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank expecting resistance to the pullout.
• 7/17/2005 Fighting in Gaza threatens fragile truce in Mideast, Abbas tells militants to stop latest attacks by AP.
  
• 8/14/2005 An uncertain future in Gaza, Israel withdrawal to start this week by The Boston Globe.
  
• 8/20/2005 Abbas promises freedom in Gaza, Jewish settlement demolition begins by AP.
  
• 8/30/2005 Sharon says Israel will keep main West Bank blocs by AP.
      Jerusalem - Not all Israeli settlements in the West Bank will remain in place in a final peace accord with the Palestinians.    Egypt discussed and pried a pledge from Palestinian militants to maintain a truce with Israel despite a surge of violence following the withdrawal.
      Sharon insisted that all of the main settlement blocs would remain under Israeli sovereignty, but "not all the settlements of today in Judea and Samaria will remain," calling the West Bank by its biblical names.    He said the next step must be negotiations under the "road map" peace plan that leads to the creation of a Palestinian state.
• 9/12/2005 Last Israeli forces pulling out of Gaza, Palestinians eager to take control by AP.
  
• 9/16/2005 Gaza withdrawal leads to Israel-Qatar contacts by AP.
  
• 12/4/2005 Pope Benedict XVI, Abbas discuss Middle East peace by AP.
  
• 12/31/2005 Palestinian police briefly seize Gaza-Egypt border crossing by AP.
  
  The year 2006.
  
  
• 1/20/2006 Suicide bomber injures 20 in Israel - Islamic Jihad claims responsibility - by Aron Heller, AP.
      Tel Aviv, Israel - A Palestinian suicide bomber posing as a peddler blew himself up in a Tel Aviv restaurant in an apparent attempt to destabilize the region a week before Palestinian elections.    Twenty people were injured.    Islamic Jihad, the only Palestinian facton boycotting the vote, claimed responsibility.    Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas accused the group of trying to sabotage the Jan. 25 election.    This was two days after acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was ready to resume peace talks after Israel's election in March, provided Abbas disarms militants.
• 1/22/2006 Israel hints at using military to stop Iran nuclear program by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's defense minister Shaul Mofaz hinted that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action.
• 1/23/2006 Iran warns Israel against action by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran said that Israel would be making a fatal mistake if it takes military action against Tehran's nuclear program and called their threat a childish game.    Israel views Iran as its biggest threat.
• 1/27/2006 Hamas' win clouds peace hopes - Militant group's landslide victory upends Mideast political landscape - by Ravi Nessman, AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The landslide victory of the Islamic militant group Hamas in Palestinian elections unnerved the world, darkening prospects for Mideast peace.    Peace can only go forward if Hamas teams up with the previous ruling party, Fatah, and abandons their violent ideology.
• 1/31/2006 Hamas told to renounce violence or lose world aid by AP.
      London - A Palestinian government led by Hamas must renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist if it is to receive overseas financial aid, U.S. and other international donors said.    They have a 3 month grace period to change its ways or lose half its annual budget.
• 2/1/2006 Western threat to cut off aid has Hamas seeking donors by Mohammed Daraghmeh, AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official said the Islamic militant group is looking for new sources of funding after the international community threatened to cut off aid, claiming it will not be blackmailed.    Hamas will find it difficult to persuade Muslim nations to make up a shortfall and the threat may get Hamas to moderate its ideology.
• 2/14/2006 Parliament's final session gives Abbas new powers by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The Palestinan parliament gave President Mahmoud Abbas broad new powers, infuriating Hamas days before the Islamic group takes control of a suddenly weakened legislature.    Abbas still has control over the Palestinian Authority.
• 2/23/2006 Iran vows to support Palestinian Authority by Steven Erlanger, The New York Times.
      Jerusalem - A senior Iranian official Ali Larijani pledged to provide financial support to a Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority, to resist America's cruelty.    Israel said it would use any legal means to block the flow of Iranian money to a terrorist leadership.
• 3/3/2006 Abbas: Al-Qaida expands into West Bank, Gaza Strip by AP.
      Jerusalem - Al-Qaida has spread to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which creates dire consequences for the entire region, Abbas said.
• 3/11/2006 Acting premier details his plans for West Bank by AP.
      Jerusalem - Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of the Kadima Party presented a sweeping vision for Israel's future, saying he will dismantle most West Bank settlements, fortify remaining settlement blocs and set the nation's borders by 2010.    Olmert's agenda also includes a plan for an expanded Jerusalem that alarms Palestinians, connecting the West Bank's largest settlement to the disputed city with new Jewish housing, a plan the U.S. opposes.
• 3/13/2006 Cabinet to include outside factions, Haniyeh says by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas group, said a majority of the ministers in the Cabinet would come from outside the newly elected Palestinian legislature..
• 3/17/2006 Hamas decides to form government on its own by AP.
      Hamas ended coalition talks after failing to secure a single party as a partner, but said it will form a government on its own, a scenario likely to ensure international isolation for the Islamic militants.    This measure is sure to bring crippling economic sanctions that the World Bank has warned would devastate the poverty-stricken Palestinian territories.
• 3/23/2006 Olmert: Israel won't wait years for Hamas recognition by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert said he will not wait years for Hamas to recognize Israel, a precondition for peace talks with the Palestinians, and will take unilateral steps in the meantime.
• 3/24/2006 Hard-liners may be excluded from Israeli government by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert sent his strong signal that the hard-line parties won't be welcome in the next government if his party wins next week's election.
• 3/26/2006 Abbas threatens to sack Hamas if changes not made by AP.
      Abbas issued a threat to bring down Hama's new government if it does not change its violent ways.    He has the authority to sack the prime minister and disband the government.
• 3/27/2006 Israeli leader will consult West on plan for West Bank by AP.
      Jerusalem - Two days before the election, Olmert pledged to consult the U.S. and Europe about his plan to pull out of much of the West Bank, and set his borders.
• 3/29/2006 Olmert claims win in Israeli elections - Centrist leader vows to draw final borders - by Ravi Nessman, AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert decalred victory for his centrist Kadima party in Israel's elections, and vowed to draw Israel's final borders.
• 3/30/2006 Hamas assumes power; Canada suspends aid by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas took power, with president Abbas swearing in 24 Cabinet ministers.    Canada said it was suspending aid to the cash-strapped Palestinians Authority, and other nations were expected to follow suit.
• 3/31/2006 Palestinian bomber kills three Israelis by AP.
      Nablus, West Bank - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the northern West Bank settlement of Kedoumim, killing 3 Israeli who he caught a ride with.
• 3/31/2006 Hamas government faces financial crisis by AP.
      Nablus, West Bank - The Hamas-led government faced a financial crisis on its first day in office, as Western nations threatened to cut off aid if the militant group does not soften its stance on Israel.
• 4/1/2006 Four killed, 35 hurt in factional fighting by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - A Palestinian militant Abu Yousef Abu Quka with ties to Hamas was killed by a car bomb, unleashing a factional battle that left 3 dead and 35 wounded at the militant's funeral.    Followers blamed forces loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement.
• 4/2/2006 Militant rejects ends to arms display - Hamas premier seeks calm in Gaza - by Sarah El Deeb, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Dozens of gunmen fired wildly into the air as a Gaza Strip strongman rejected calls for an end to public displays of weapons, raising the risk of new factional violence.    Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh appealed for calm and pledged to remove rogue gunmen from the streets of Gaza.    Samir Masharawi, a senior member of the Fatah Party, rejected the call, returned to Gaza from Egypt.    So now they are fighting among themselves.
• 4/3/2006 Palestinian slams diplomatic restrictions by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh criticized the U.S. for restricting diplomatic ties with the Hamas government, saying his people were being punished for electing the militant Islamic group.    The U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
• 4/6/2006 Without aid, Hamas fails to make its April payroll by Ibrahim Barzak, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The new Hamas-led government is broke and missed the April 1 monthly pay date for tens of thousands of Palestinian public workers, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said.    Haniyeh has no solutions to the crash crunch and was appealing to the Arab world for donations for the salaries for 140,000 people.    In the past, Palestinians received about $1 billion a year in foreign aid.
• 4/7/2006 Battle brewing over Palestinian security forces by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The new Palestinian prime minister said that his Cabinet will take control of the Palestinian security forces, putting his Hamas-led government on a collision course with President Mahmoud Abbas.    Abbas installed an ally as head of the three security branches in a battle for control of the 58,000-member police force, and told Hamas it had to clear all foreign policy moves with him.    Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh rejected any attempts to take power away from Hamas.
• 4/15/2006 European Union to freeze offical aid to Palestinians by AP.
      Luxembourg - The EU foreign ministers endorsed a freeze of EU aid to the Palestinian government.    They will still supply humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
• 4/12/2006 Hamas seeks public support for aid in Islamic world by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Hamas is protesting across the Arab and Islamic world to pressure governments to send money.    Arab states have so far failed to back up their rhetorical solidarity, leaving Hamas to go on grassroots support.
• 4/15/2006 U.S. curbs business with Palestinians - Near ban is attempt to isolate Hamas - by Josef Federman, AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.S. government has barred Americans from doing most business with the new Hamas-led Palestinian government, officials said, stepping up U.S. financial pressure on the Islamic militant group.    This is a sanction on existing terrorism, but not on humanitarian aid and dealings with President Abbas.
• 4/16/2006 Palestinian police protest delay in pay by AP.
      Khan Younis, Gaza Strip - Dozens of masked Palestinian policemen blocked a main road in the Gaza Strip and briefly seized a government building to protest a delay in paying their salaries, and discontent for the Hamas-led government.    Russia said that it has pledged an unspecified amount of financial assitance.    Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched a new artillery barrage at Gaza in response to continuing volleys of homemade Qassam rockets fired at Israel.
• 4/17/2006 Iran says it will give Palestinians $50 million by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will give the financially strapped Palestinian Authority $50 million in aid, for the first time ever.
• 4/18/2006 Persian Gulf nation to send $50 million to Palestinians by AP.
      Doha, Qatar - Officials in Qatar said the Persian Gulf nation would give the Palestinian government $50 million to help make up for shortfall.
• 4/18/2006 Suicide bomber kills 9 at Israeli restaurant - Attack is deadliest in more than a year - by Laurie Copans, AP.
      Tel Aviv, Israel - A Palestinian bomber struck a packed fast-food restaurant during Passover, killing nine and himself and wounding dozens.    The Hamas-led government defended the attack as a legitamate response to Israeli aggression, even though a separate group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsiblity.    Abbas condemned the bombing and ordered security forces to prevent future attacks.    The U.S., E.U. and Russia condemned the attacks.
• 4/22/2006 Abbas bars Hamas' security force plan - Militants still aim to form unit - by Ibrahim Barzak, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - President Abbas vetoed Hamas' plan to set up a security force of 4,000 militants, but Hamas insisted it would go ahead, deepening the bitter clash.    Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for an official visit about his plan to draw Israel's final borders within the next four years.
• 4/23/2006 Palestinian gunmen clash in Gaza as struggle between factions escalates by Ibrahim Barzak, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Violent clashes and mass protests erupted across the West Bank and Gaza Strip between Hamas and Fatah followers after a Hamas leader accused Abbas of treachery.    Hamas was cry babying as usual about how Israel and America is persecuting them, and seeking ways to beseige and starve them, and now our own are plotting against us.    What do you not understand Hamas?    Nobody important likes you.
• 4/24/2006 Hamas militants battle with gunmen in Gaza Strip by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Dozens of Hamas militants rushed to the aid of a Cabinet minister confronted by angry gunmen, sparking a shootout that wounded three people in the latest explosion of infighting in the Gaza Strip.    Hamas is using its private army to impose order as it battles the rival Fatah movement for control of Palestinian security forces.    A top Hamas official had cut $2 million from the monthly health budget to help alleviate a financial crisis by halting payments for patients seeking treatment abroad.
• 4/27/2006 Abbas calls for international talks over conflict in Israel by AP.
      Oslo, Norway - Abbas called for an international conference to end his people's conflict with Israel, sidestepping the Hamas government and leading the talks himself.
• 4/29/2006 Chirac plan would pay Palestinian workers by AP.
      Paris - French President Jacques Chriac proposed creating a World Bank fund to pay the 165,000 Palestinian Authority employees living without wages since an international freeze on aid.    This will not reward the militant Hamas government.
• 5/1/2006 Israeli Cabinet shifts part of separation barrier by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's Cabinet voted to modify the route of its West Bank separation barrier to put thousands of Palestinians on the Palestinian side.
• 5/3/2006 Israeli, Palestinian leaders to meet, bypassing Hamas - Date for summit has not been set - by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert plans to meet Abbas after visiting Washington to resume Mideast peace talks.
• 5/5/2006 New Israeli government is sworn in - Prime minister plans to redraw border - by AP.
      Ehud Olmert was formally sworn in as Israel's prime minister with his new coalition government to pursue his goal of drawing Israel's final border by 2010.    Also in the plan is dividing the holy city of Jerusalem, a once inconceivable notion, giving the Palestinians nearly all the Arab neighborhoods.    Israel would keep Jerusalem's Old City with its shrines sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, an unacceptable plan to Palestinians.
• 5/7/2006 Iran's anti-Semitism by AP.
      The Jewish people have survived for two thousand years through periods of mass extermination.    Hitler tried to do it as efficeintly as he could but failed.    Today all of Israel's population of 5.6 million are on a tiny strip of land eight miles wide.    A tempting target for those who would finish Hitler's work.    His successors now reside in Tehran, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declaration that Israel must be destroyed, and their recent incursion into producing radioactive nuclear weapons, could leave them the option to wipe out Israel with only one nuclear bomb, leaving nothing on the ground, and a retaliation would have no major effect on an Islamic civilization of a billion people stretching from Mauritania to Indonesia.    I put great hope in the words of Jesus Christ that if that time is not changed that no soul will be saved.    He will come for those who believe in him at that time I hope.
• 5/7/2006 Palestinian aid cuts spur warning of health crisis by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The West's economic boycott of the Hamas-led government has brought the Palestinian health-care system to the brink of disaster, officials say.    They warn of an epidemic of preventable deaths if money is not found soon, including the collapse of sanitation and sewage systems, raising the threat of cholera and other diseases.
• 5/11/2006 Israeli fuel company ends deleveries to Palestinians by AP.
      Nablus, West Bank - Palestinian gas stations started shutting down and motorists lined up at pumps after an Israeli fuel company cut off deliveries, deepening the humanitarian crisis.    This could also stop food deliveries and keep people home from work.    Israel also halted $55 million in monthly tax transfers to the Palestinians.
• 5/13/2006 Palestinians give jewels, paychecks to government by AP.
      Nablus, West Bank - Thousands of Hamas followers gathered to donate money and jewelry to their cash strapped government, while a Western boycott stirred debate inside the militant group over whether to accept a state alongside Israel.    The money raised is no where near the tens of millions of dollars the government needs.
• 5/18/2006 Hamas defies Abbas with show of force - 3,000 armed men take up positions - by Ibrahim Barzak, AP.
      Bureij Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip - About 3,000 gunmen loyal to the radical Hamas-led government spread out across the Gaza Strip, the Islamic group's most brazen challenge yet to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.    Hamas claimed the new force's aim was to bring order to Gaza, and there were no reported clashes with Fatah loyalists.    At least their attention was not on Israel.
• 5/19/2006 Hamas security force, Fatah fighters clash by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The new Hamas security force clashed with Fatah fighters in Gaza, culminating a day of tense standoffs as the rivals competed for control of the Palestinian territory.    Abbas instructed his Palestinian police to respond with force to any Hamas attacks.
• 5/20/2006 Hamas caught smuggling $817,000 into Gaza Strip by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - A senior Hamas official tried to sneak $817,000 into the Gaza Strip in a pouch under his shirt.    Palestinian security forces confiscated the money at the Egypt-Gaza border.    Arab banks have been afraid to run afoul of U.S. anti-terrorism legislation, and refuse to transfer the money.
• 5/21/2006 Palestinian attack stokes tensions - Bombing wounds intelligence official - by Ibrahim Barzak, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Abbas' security forces hinted that Hamas, was behind the bomb that seriously wounded Tareq Abu Rajab, the intelligence chief for him.    Some believe that the new standoffs may be the beginning of a broader civil war.    Hours later Israeli warplanes fired missles at a car in Gaza City and killed Mohammed Dadouh, top militant commander of the small militant group Islamic Jihad.
• 5/22/2006 Palestinian police foil attack - Bomb targeted Fatah officer loyal to Abbas - by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Palestinian police thwarted an attack on a security commander of Abbas the second in two days.    They discovered a 154-pound bomb planted along a route used by Shbak's motorcade intended to assasinate him.    Abbas was at the World Economic Forum in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, where he met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for high level talks.
• 5/24/2006 Bush praises Olmert's West Bank plan by AP.
      Washington - President Bush praised Israeli Prime Minisiter Ehud Olmert for his plan to unilaterally redraw West Bank borders, as an important step toward the peace we both support, during his first meeting with him.
• 5/26/2006 Abbas challenges Hamas on Palestinian statehood by Mohammed Daraghmeh, AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas gave Hamas 10 days to accept the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, saying he'll submit the plan to a referendum by mid-July if the militants refuse.    Will this stop the deadlock or cause a deeper crisis?    Abbas asked Hamas to endorse a document drawn up by senior Palestinian militants imprisoned in Israel, which accepts statehood in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and approving recognition of Israel.    Not included is renouncing violence and accepting past peace accords, which would not allow the international boycotts to be called off.
• 5/27/2006 Hamas government's militia withdraws from Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas withdrew its militia from Gaza as they grappled with Abbas' ultimatum to accept or be challenged in a national referendum.
• 5/28/2006 Hamas militia returns; officials fear more violence by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas militia returned to the streets of Gaza after a one day absence, signaling they would not honor the deadline.
• 6/2/2006 Palestinian police protest lack of pay by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Thousands of Palestinian police officers joined the protest over unpaid wages, firing in the air and smashing windows.    It was the most violent demonstration yet against the Hamas-led government.    A survey found that 89 percent of Palestinians support a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict.
• 6/9/2006 Israel, Abbas to discuss peace plan by AP.
      Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt - Olmert will meet Abbas to urge the resumption of negotiations on an internationally backed peace plan, known as the "road map," that includes dismantling violent groups.
• 6/3/2006 Palestinian official says some back wages to be paid by AP.
      Gaza City Gaza Strip - Hamas said that 40,000 will receive overdue wages this weekend and that the remaining 125,000 will receive advances.    Arab states with tens of millions of dollars to help have refused to transfer the money for fear of running afoul of U.S. anti-terror laws.
• 6/4/2006 Abbas fields new militia to counter that of Hamas by AP.
      Jenin, West Bank - Abbas new Fatah militia 2,000 strong raised the stakes in the power struggle with Hamas nudging the rivals closer to a conflict.
• 6/6/2006 Abbas to call referendum on recognizing Israel by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas said he will call a referendum on a plan that would implicity recognize Israel even though the governing Hamas party firmly opposes such a vote.    This will be a way out of crippling financial sanctions imposed on the Hamas-led government and resume peace talks with Israel.
• 6/10/2006 Israeli beach strike kills 7 civilians - Hamas shuns truce, vows big 'response' - by Sarah El Deeb and Ibrahim Barzak, AP.
      Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip - Hamas militants called off a truce with Israel after a barrage of Israeli artillery shells killed seven Palestinian civilians at a beachside picnic in the Gaza Strip.    Israel attacked a suspected Palestinian rocket-launching site that killed a total of 10 people.    Abbas condemned the beach attack.    Israel claims an errant tank shell hit the beach, while attacking and killing three militants in northern Gaza after they fired a rocket into Israel.
• 6/11/2006 Abbas refuses to put off vote on state - Hamas disagrees, also fires on Israel - by Mohammed Daraghmeh, AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Defying the Hamas militants, Abbas said that Palestinians would vote July 26 on whether to establish a state alongside Israel.    The referendum is expected to win a clear majority despite rising anger at Israel.
• 6/12/2006 Official says Hamas stance a big hurdle in peace talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that Israel wants to negotiate with Abbas but not to pursue a final peace plan while Hamas control the government.
• 6/12/2006 Middle East cease-fire unraveling by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel killed two Hamas militants in an air strike, while Palestinian militants bombarded southern Israel town of Sderot, with 30 homemade rockets as a 16-month-old cease-fire fell apart..
• 6/13/2006 Palestinians attack own parliament, cabinet buildings by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinian forces loyal to Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas-led government, riddling the parliament and cabinet buildings with bullets and setting them afire to protest an attack on their comrades in the Gaza Strip.
• 6/15/2006 Muslim nations shore up Palestinian government by AP.
      Rafah, Gaza Strip - The Palestinian foreign minister returned from a trip to Muslim nations carrying $20 million in cash for his money-starved government.
• 6/16/2006 Hamas offers to restore cease-fire with Israel by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas offered to restore a cease-fire with Israel, nearly a week after calling it off.    Israel responded favorably that both sides step back.
• 6/19/2006 Hamas, Fatah closing in on deal to recognize Israel by AP.
      Jerusalem - The ruling Hamas and rival Fatah factions were moving closer to an agreement on recognizing Israel, a sign that international pressure on the new government could be yeilding results.    Hamas is desperate to reach an agreement with the Fatah as a way to lift the international aid boycott that has bankrupted the Hamas-led government.    Because of this, the U.S. and EU approved a plan to transfer $125 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
• 6/23/2006 Olmert, Abbas embrace at Jordan meeting by Jamal Halaby, AP.
      Petra, Jordan - Olmert and Abbas kissed and embraced in the first meeting between Isareli and Palestinian leaders in more than a year, hosted by Jordan's King Abdullah II.    The Jordanians saw this meeting as an effort to warm relations between the two, and it seems to promise a more substantive meeting in coming weeks.
• 7/1/2006 Israel trying to topple government, Palestinian says - Soldier's kidnappers want 1,000 freed - by Ravi Nessman, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that Israel's offensive is aimed at toppling the Hamas-led government, but is working with mediators to resolve the crisis over a captive Israeli soldier.    Israel kept up the pressure in Gaza, destroying the interior minister's office and targeting a car carrying militants in an air strike.    Israel also attacked a militant cell, killing a local Islamic Jihad leader.
      Palestinian militants holding an abducted Israeli soldier issued a new demand, calling a halt to the offensive and the release of 1,000 prisoners from Israeli jails.    Haniyeh accused Israel of using the abduction as a pretext for launching the offensive with the aim of bringing down his government.    The strike destroyed Gaza's only power plant pushing the territory to the edge of a humanitarian crisis.    Israel hopes the display of miltary might will pressure Palestinians into turning against the Hamas militants and release the soldier, but this could backfire on them without giving Hamas a way to save face.
• 7/9/2006 Hamas calls for Gaza cease-fire - Israel says soldier must be returned - by Thomas Wagner, AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas called for a truce, but Israel demanded the captured soldier be freed first.
• 7/13/2006 Israel attacks Lebanon after soldiers captured - Gaza also rocked by bombings - by AP.
      Sefat, Israel - Israel sent troops into Lebanon for the first time in six years after guerrillas from the Hezbollah militia group rocketed northern Israel and crossed the border, capturing two Israeli soldiers.    Olmert called the Hezbollah raid an act of war for which the Lebanese government bore responsiblity.    This leaves Israel battling at two fronts.
• 7/14/2006 Israel steps up attack in Lebanon - Israeli planes bomb Beirut, highways, bases, Hezbollah blamed for rocket attacks, kidnappings - by Sam Ghattas, AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Israel bombed Lebanon's main airport plus highways, military bases in retaliation to Hezbollah guerrilla rockets that rained down on Israel.    Arab and European governments feared that violence could spiral out of control.    Hezbollah is the Iranian-backed militant Shiite faction that has a free hand in southern Lebanon and holds seats in parliament.
      Many think Iran or Syria were behind Hezbollah's capture of two soldiers.    Iran is in a diplomatic fight with Europe and the U.S. over its nuclear program.    Washington accuses Syria of sending insurgents to Iraq, interfering in Lebanon and harboring the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
• 7/15/2006 Lebanon fight rages on - Hezbollah aircraft drone rams Israeli warship; guerrilla leader's Beirut headquarters destroyed - by Hamza Hendawl, AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - The conflict showed no signs of abating despite pleas from world leaders for restraint on both sides.    Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah vowed to strike even deeper into Israel with rockets.    Israel again bombarded Lebanon's airport and main roads, including the crowded Shiite neighborhood of south Beirut around Hezbollah's headquarters.    Oil prices rose to $78 a barrel.
• 7/16/2006 Israel tightens grip on Lebanon - Attacks heaviest in 4-day-old conflict - by Sam F. Ghattas, AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Warplanes bombed Beirut's southern suburbs again early today, just hours after Israel tightened a noose around its northern neighbor Lebanon with the heaviest air strikes yet in the 4-day-old conflict.    Israel hit strongholds of the Hezbollah Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, bombed central Beirut for the first time and pounded seaports and a key bridge.
• 7/17/2006 Israel pounds Lebanon after rocket hits Haifa - Death toll tops 200; no letup in sight - by Hamza Hendawl and Lee Keath, AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah and Israel traded rocket and missile barrages without letup for the sixth day, as fighting has shown no sign of easing.    Hezbollah rockets struck deep inside Israel, killing eight people in the northern city of Haifa, and Israel retaliated.    The Marine Corps helicopters evacuated 21 Americans from Lebanon to Cyprus, even though there are 25,000 more who wish to leave, but are waiting for ships to come in.    Israel has even imposed a naval blockade on the country.
• 7/18/2006 Diplomatic solution sought - Annan, Blair call for Israel-Hezbollah buffer - by USA Today.
      Tel Aviv, Israel - As the Group of Eight (G8) summit of nations ended in St. Petersburg, Russia, diplomats called for sending international forces to southern Lebanon to create a buffer between Hezbollah militia and the Israeli border.    Of course no one is pressuring Iran and Syria to discourage Hezbollah violence.
      Many opinons have arose as what to do.    Some want the U.S. to construct an 'Arab umbrella.'    Others believe that Israel should not restrain until their demands are met.    And some believe Iran has overplayed its hand.
• 7/21/2006 Israel, Hezbollah fight fierce battles at border by Lee Keath, AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to flee southern Lebanon immediately as they prepare for a ground offensive to set up a buffer zone.    U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for an immediate cease-fire, denouncing Israel for excessive use of force and Hezbollah for holding an entire nation hostage with its rocket attacks and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.
• 7/22/2006 Hezbollah arms targeted in offensive by Barry Schweid, AP.
      Washington - Israel's offensive in Lebanon is designed to destroy Hezbollah's weapons depots and command-and-control centers, and it has already disabled nearly half the militia's arsenal.    Israel said the operation could be halted right away if we get the return of our soldiers.    The U.N. has estimated that a half-million people have been displaced by the fighting, and 355 killed, with 34 Israelis killed.
• 7/23/2006 Israelis capture Lebanese village - Limited ground operation seeks to subdue Hezbollah - by Benjamin Harvey, AP.
      Israel-Lebanon border - Israeli entered into the border of Lebanon in battle and took control of the village of Maroun al-Ras.    Then they struck inside Sidon.    The ground offensive is intended to drive Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon.
• 7/24/2006 Syria urged to reject Hezbollah - Israel face tough ground assault - by Kathy Gannon, AP.
      Sidon, Lebanon - Mideast diplomats pressed Syria to stop backing Hezbollah as the guerrillas fired more rockets onto Israel's third-largest city, forcing Israel to retaliate.    Israel would accept an interantional force, NATO, on its border after it drives back or weakens Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.    Israel pushed into the outskirts of Bint Jbail.    The U.S. is backing Israel's demand to return the soldiers.
• 7/26/2006 Irael tightens grip in south Lebanon by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Two weeks into the war, Israeli troops sealed off a Hezbollah stronghold and widened their foothold in southern Lebanon.    Hezbollah leaders did not expect such an Israeli onslaught when they snatched the soldiers, as 400 have been killed.
• 7/27/2006 Fighting heats up in Gaza, Lebanon - Cease-fire talks in Rome stalled - by The New York Times.
      Avivim, Israel - Israel's two-front conflict had its heaviest day of fighting, as battles raged the meeting of the U.S., E.U and Arab countries in Rome failed to agree on a plan to end the fighting.    Hezbollah kept up its attack on northern Israel, with 151 missiles hitting the region.
• 7/28/2006 Israel claims world's OK on Lebanon by AP.
      The Israeli government authorized the call-up of 30,000 reservists, because the lack of international consensus on a cease-fire in Lebanon amounted to "permission from the world" for Israel's campaign against Hezbollah.    Israel plans on widening the offensive in Lebanon.
• 7/29/2006 Rice returning to Mideast today - Bush, Blair support plan for multinational force - by Christine Hauser, The New York Times.
      President Bush vowed to turn the conflict in the Middle East into a moment of opportunity for a broader change, and sent Secretary Condoleezza Rice to the region, to carry a plan for a multinational force to help Lebanon's army take charge in the southern part of the country.    Hezbollah launched its deepest strike into Israel as Israeli warplanes and artillery blasted apartment buildings and roads in Lebanon, gunning for guerrillas.
• 7/30/2006 Rice: Mideast peace is possible - U.S. pursuing deal to end fighting - by Paul Richter and Laura King, Los Angeles Times.
      Jerusalem - Rice returned to the Middle East expressing optimism about ending the conflict, with Hezbollah looking for a deal as a positive step.    The conflict has now claimed the lives of between 400 and 600 Lebanese.
• 7/31/2006 Strike sparks outrage; Israel halts air attacks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel suspended air attacks on south Lebanon for 48 hours after an air strike killed at least 56 Lebanese in Qana, almost all of them women and children.    Israel will allow corridors for 24 hours for those who want to leave south Lebanon and humanitarian assistance.    Lebanon refuses to negotiate until hostilities cease.    Bush says America mourns the loss of innocent life.    U.N. Security Council expresses shock and distress.
• 8/1/2006 Israel rejects calls for cease-fire - Air strikes continue against Hezbollah - by AP.
      After 20 days, Israel's prime minister declared that there would be no cease-fire with Hezbollah guerrillas, apologizing for the deaths of Lebanese civilians but saying "we will not give up on our goal to live a life free of terror."    Early today, Israeli planes struck deep inside Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah strongholds, and has approved enlarging the ground offensive.    Syrian President Bashar Assad said he is determined to support Hezbollah.
• 8/2/2006 More Israeli troops enter Lebanon - Fighting rages far beyond border - by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Israel attacked deeper into Lebanon, and Hezbollah guerrillas claim they had trapped Israeli commandos in Baalbek, 80 miles north of Israel.    More Israeli troops entered with orders to push as far north as the Litani River, 18 miles from the border.
• 8/3/2006 Hezbollah launches over 230 rockets - Israeli forces resume large-scale offensive - by AP.
      Metulla, Israel - Hezbollah fighters pounded northern Israel with their largest rocket barrage to date, 230 in Nahariya, defying three weeks of punishing air strikes and assault by Israeli ground troops.
• 8/5/2006 Israel cuts Lebanon supply line - Hezbollah rockets make deepest strike - by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Israeli warplanes severed Lebanon's last major supply link with Syria, and the Hezbollah guerrillas launched their deepest rocket attack inside Israel.    Israel said it completed its first phase of the offensive, securing a four-mile buffer zone in south Lebanon, and is preparing for its push to the Litani, to drive Hezbollah out of missile range.    The buffer will cause shortages of food, gasoline and medicines, and also the flow of weapons from Iran and Syria.    Hezbollah rained about 188 rockets about 50 miles into Israel in Hadera.
• 8/6/2006 Mideast cease-fire proposal drafted - U.S., France push deal; battles rage - by The New York Times.
      Beirut, Lebanon - France and the U.S. reached an agreement on a U.N. Security Council resolution to halt the fighting in Lebanon.    U.N. forces would monitor southern Lebanon, and Israeli soldiers would be permitted to remain if they took no offensive military steps.    Now it goes to the two to accept it.
• 8/7/2006 Hezbollah delivers deadly barrage - Battles rage ahead of U.N. truce vote - by AP.
      Kfar Giladi, Israel - Hezbollah pounded northern Israel in Kfar and Haifa with rockets after rejecting a U.S.-French truce proposal.    Israel retaliated and destroyed rocket launchers in Qana that attacked Haifa.    Arab League foreign ministers were to meet in Beirut to convene a session.    Iran gives its ally Hezbollah a green light to keep fighting in Lebanon.
• 8/8/2006 Toll mounts in Lebanon as talks stall - More rockets strike in Israel - by Los Angeles Times.
      Beirut, Lebanon - After 27 days, Israel bombarded south Beirut, the eastern Bekka Valley and southern Lebanon.    Hezbollah rocketed northern Israel with devasting effect.    Lebanon is in economic disaster with $2.5 billion in damage to airports, roads, bridges and buildings, and more than 800,000 people - over 20 percent of the 3.9 million Lebanese have been displaced.
• 8/9/2006 S. Lebanon in Israel chokehold - Any moving vehicle considered target - by AP.
      Tyre, Lebanon - Israel shut down south Lebanon with a threat to blast any moving vehicle as ground fighting intensified.    The Arab governments called for a full Israeli withdrawal as a condition of any cease-fire.    At least 160 Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel.
• 8/10/2006 Israel prepares for expanded ground offensive - Plan may pressure U.N. to push cease-fire vote - by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel approved a new ground offensive into southern Lebanon in an effort to inflict further damage on Hezbollah and halt most rocket attacks before the U.N. Security Council demands a cease-fire.    The death toll is at 829 people.    The plan is to push Hezbollah out of missile range past the Litani River, leaving Israel in control of a security zone that it evacuated six years ago after a bloody 18-year occupation.
• 8/11/2006 Israel threatens Beirut; cease-fire talks intensify by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel dropped leaflets to warn residents of southern Beirut to evacuate their homes as they held off expanding its military operation while diplomats negotiate over a U.N. resolution to halt fighting.
• 8/12/2006 U.N. body endorses Mideast cease-fire by AP.
      United Nations - The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that calls for an end to the war between Israel and Hezbollah and authorizes 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.    Israeli Prime Minister Olmert endorsed the resolution.
• 8/13/2006 Israel advances; cease-fire set - Truce starts tomorrow, Annan says - by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Israel advanced till reaching the Litani River.    The leader of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah grudgingly joined lebanon's government in accepting the U.N. resolution.    Annan said the cease-fire would take effect at 8:00 am Beirut time.
• 8/14/2006 Mideast truce facing hurdles - Lebanese troops not cleared to deploy - by AP.
      Jerusalem - Neither side is prepared to follow the terms of the cease-fire without the 15,000 Lebanese troops and equal number of U.N. peacekeepers present to help police the accord.   
• 8/15/2006 Hezbollah lost war with Israel. Bush says - he blames militants for civilians' deaths - by AP.
      Washington - President Bush said that Israel defeated Hezbollah's guerrillas in the monthlong Mideast war and that the Islamic militants are to blame for the deaths of hundreds of Lebanese civilians.    Bush admonished Iran and Syria for backing Hezbollah.    The U.S. backed Israel, for a broader struggle between freedom and terrorism.    It did eliminate a state within a state run by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.    Hezbollah claims they were victorious, but they are no longer a state within a state.    Bush believes this will also strengthen Lebanon's democracy.    The Hezbollah had even fired rockets at Israel but they did not reach their border.
• 8/16/2006 Hezbollah balks at disarming - Compromise sought to salvage cease-fire -by The Washington Post.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah refused to disarm and withdraw its fighters from the battle-scarred hills along the border with Israel.    Israel even had to deploy commandos on a Hezbollah stronghold 60 miles inside Lebanon to stop arms smuggling from Iran and Syria to the militant Shiite fighters.
• 8/21/2006 Lebanon warns against rocket fire - It wants to avert Israeli retaliation - by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanese's defense minister Elias Murr said he is certain that Hezbollah will not break the cease-fire.    He is concerned that Syrian-backed Palestinian militants might try to restart the fighting by drawing retaliation from Israel.    The U.N. is presently getting troops built up from various countries for deployment to the area, and Israel is waiting for that to take effect before any withdrawal.
• 9/2/2006 $500 million pledged to aid Palestinians by AP.
      Stockholm, Sweden - Nations promised to send $500 million in aid to the poor forgotten Palestinians for humanitarian issues in the Gaza Strip which turned critical while the world focused on halting the war between Israel and Lebanon.    Syria promised the U.N. to increase border patrols and work to thwart the flow of arms to its ally Hezbollah, to help bring peace to Lebanon.
• 9/12/2006 Palestinians remake government - Coalition implicitly recognizes Israel - by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas struck a deal to share power with the militant Islamic faction Hamas, but the compromise falls short of demands that Hamas renounce violence.    This involves dissolving the Hamas-led government within 48 hours to clear the way for the formation of a coalition making the two parties rule together.    That proposal envisions a Palestinian state alongside Israel, thus abandoning the Hamas goal of destroying the Jewish state.
• 9/18/2006 Palestinian talks stall over recognizing Israel by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Coalition talks between Abbas and Hamas have stalled over U.S. demands that a national unity government recognize Israel.    Abbas cannot get Hamas to soften its anti-Israel ideology, which would pave the way to ending international sanctions that are crippling the Palestinian economy.
• 9/23/2006 Hamas leader backs out of coalition proposal by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas' prime minister said they would not lead a coalition that recognizes Israel.
• 10/2/2006 Internal violence worst since Hamas took over by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas militants and the Fatah group were enthralled in violence as usual.
• 10/28/2006 Palestinian president may dissolve government by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas said he will dissolve the Hamas-led government within two weeks if they do not agree to form a governing coalition with his Fatah party.    Abbas told the E.U. that he would replace the Cabinet with an apolitical panel of professionals, in order to ease crippling Western sanctions.
• 10/29/2006 Rice increases pressure on Hezbollah to disarm by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped up international pressure on Hezbollah to surrender its weapons if it wants to remain part of Lebanon's political process.    The Islamic militant group holds 11 seats in the Lebanese parliament and two spots in the Cabinet.
• 10/31/2006 Israelis on Lebanon border optimistic - Fears ease with Hezbollah gone - by AP.
      Metulla, Israel - Israel is seeing more U.N. peacekeeprs, Lebanese soldiers, 10,000 of whom have been sent to south Lebanon since the cease-fire on Aug. 14.
• 11/9/2006 Hamas leader calls for renewed attacks after Israeli shelling kills 18 in Gaza neighborhood by AP.
      Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip - In Damascus, Syria, Khaled Mashaal, Hamas' exiled leader called off a cease-fire with Israel after 18 were killed in an Israeli artillery barrage on a densely populated Gaza neighborhood.    This has undermined Abbas' effort to form a more moderate government and renew the pursuit of peace with Israel.    Israel had pulled out of the city Beit Hanoun yesterday and the rocket attacks resumed almost immediately, where they retaliated to that location.
• 11/12/2006 U.S. vetoes resolution on Israeli offensive - U.N. had sought to condemn attack - by AP.
      United Nations - The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out of the territory.
• 11/13/2006 Government vows rapid response to Israeli attack by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran's military will retaliate swiftly and strongly if Israel attacks any Iranian nuclear sites, the Foreign Minsitry Mohammed Ali Hosseini said.    This came after Israel's deputy defense minister suggested Israel may be forced to strike Iran's disputed nuclear program as "a last resort."
• 11/13/2006 Palestinians agree to peace conference by AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - The Hamas-led Palestinian government agreed to an international peace conference with Israel after the Arab League, angered by Israel's military offensive in Gaza, voted to end a financial blockade on the Palestinians.
• 11/19/2006 Hard-line positions urged against Hamas by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's deputy prime minister said Israel should assassinate Hamas' leadership, ignore the moderate Palestinian president and walk away from international peace efforts, the latest in a string of hard-line positions voiced by the newest member of the Cabinet.
• 11/25/2006 Israel: Palestinian offer to halt attacks inadequate by AP.
      Jebaliya, Gaza Strip - The Palestinian prime minister said that militants are prepared to stop firing rockets at Israel if it will halt all military action in Palestinian territories.    Israel rejected the offer, saying it will respond only to a total truce.    The fighting continued.
• 11/26/2006 Israel, Palestinians agree to cease-fire in Gaza Strip by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire to end a five-month Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants into Israel.
• 11/27/2006 Hopes rise as cease-fire starts taking hold in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Rocket fire from Gaza died down after a day-break cease-fire, raising hopes.
• 11/28/2006 Israel's Olmert appeals to Palestinians for peace by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert reached out to the Palestinians say he was prepared to grant them a state, release needed funds and free prisoners if they choose the path of peace.
• 11/29/2006 Rice to meet with Abbas, trying to help peace talks by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - In an effort to help new Mideast peace overtures advance, Rice met with Abbas in Jericho.
• 12/4/2006 Palestinians, Israelis might end truce by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The truce may be scrapped because Palestinian militants insisted the truce must also apply to the West Bank and Israeli complaints that Gaza rocket squads are still active, firing rockets into Israel, and smuggling weapons.
• 12/5/2006 Gaza militants threaten to break truce after raids by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Israeli army had raids across the West Bank which is not included in the truce, despite the scale-back.
• 12/8/2006 Hezbollah chief says government will fall by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, promised thousands of supporters that they would eventually bring down Lebanon's Western-backed government, but the prime minister vowed to stand firm.    It was the seventh day of demonstrations by Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian parties aimed at pressuring Prime Minisiter Fuad Saniora to quit.    In a speech, Nasrallah accused Saniora of conniving with Israel during its monthlong war with Hezbollah last summer.    A day later Prime Minister Fuad Saniora accused Hezbollah's leader of threatening a coup in an unusually harsh exchange between the two.    Saniora accused the prime minsiter of being stubborn and said members of his government were responsible for the war.
• 12/9/2006 Palestinian premier renounces Israel - His visit to Tehran comes at key time - by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - The Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh vowed his Hamas-led government will never recognize Israel and will fight for Jerusalem, telling a crowd at an Iranian mosque that he will resist U.S. pressure to moderate.    Iran has given him $120 million to aid his government.
• 12/10/2006 Abbas threatens early elections - He remains open for Hamas talks - by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas threatened to call early elections to end an impasse with Hamas but set no date for the vote, signaling he has not given up on forming a unity government with the Islamic militant group.    Hamas greeted the proposal with anger, saying Abbas lacked the authority to replace the government it leads.
• 12/11/2006 Lebanese leader issued deadline by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah members and their allies flooded central Beirut, demanding changes in the government as soldiers strung more barbed wire around the prime minister's offices.    The pro-Syria opposition gave Prime Minister Faud Saniora a deadline to accept its demand to form a government with a big role for Hezbollah or face an escalating campaign to oust him.    Saniora has rejected their demand and urged his foes to resume negotiations.    Political unrest has split the country along sectarian lines, with Sunni Muslims supoorting the Sunni prime minister and Shiite Muslims backing the militant Hezbollah.    Christian factions are split between the two camps
• 12/11/2006 Debate faults Mideast policy by AP.
      Mistaken American policies in the Middle East contributed to the success of the radical Islamic movement Hamas in the Palestinian elections this year and have only given more clout and influence to Iran, said a former adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.    The U.S. State Department's refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of Hamas' elections only emboldens the organization and encourages it to act violently.    Demonizing Hamas from the Fatah party will do nothing to aid in any peace talks with Israel.    Also is the issue of a double standard that the U.S. allows Israel to develop nuclear weapons but decries Iran's effort to do the same.    That is understandable considering the comments coming out of Iran's president, and the Palestinians have repeatedly rejected thier opportunities to get a two-state solution.
• 12/12/2006 Palestinian security officer's children killed in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Gunmen killed three young sons of a Palestinian security officer twice targeted for assassination by Hamas, riddling the car taking them to school with more than 60 bullets.    The attack came at a time of growing tension between Hamas and the Fatah movement.
• 12/12/2006 President Ahmadinejad greeted by protesters by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iranian students staged a rare demonstration against the Iranian president, lighting a firecracker and burning his photograph as he delivered a speech at their university.    They chanted "Death to the dictator," which also had supporters of the president chanting in response, no arrests were reported.
• 12/12/2006 Iran hosts meeting of Holocaust skeptics by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran hosted a conference of 67 participants from 30 countries examining whether the Holocaust took place, a meeting Israel's prime minister condemned as a sick phenomenon.    Even former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke was there in the questioning whether 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis or whether the gas chambers were ever used.    They claim that the railroad to the Auschwitz concentration camp did not have enough capacity to transfer large numbers of Jews estimating the maximum maybe at 2,007.    The Iranian president believes the Nazi genocide is a myth and called for Israel to be wiped off the map.
• 12/13/2006 Iranian leader says Israel will one day be 'wiped out' by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran's president said that one day Israel will be wiped out as the Soviet Union was, drawing applause from the participants in his Holocaust conference.    Anger over the conference could further isolate Iran as the West considers sanctions over its nuclear program.
• 12/14/2006 Hamas commander ambushed outside courthouse in Gaza by AP.
      Khan Younis, Gaza Strip - Palestinian gunmen killed a Hamas commander outside a courthouse, an attack that threatened to push Hamas and Fatah closer to civil war, reducing hopes for creating a national unity government and renewed talks with Israel.
• 12/15/2006 Battle erupts at Gaza-Egyptian border by AP.
      Rafah, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen seized control of the Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt in a gun battle with Fatah-allied border guards after Israel blocked the Hamas prime minister from crossing with tens of millions of dollars in aid.    Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was eventually allowed to cross without the estimated $35 million in cash, left in Egypt.
• 12/16/2006 Palestinian violence is escalating by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The ruling Hamas accused a key ally of Abbas of trying to assassinate the prime minister, inflaming tensions between the rival factions.
• 12/16/2006 Hezbollah fears disarmament push by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Hezbollah's Shiite Muslim group is pushing for more power in a new Lebanese Cabinet partly to avoid being disarmed by any future government, according to Mahmoud Komati, deputy fo Hezbollah's political bureau.    Hezbollah's disarmament is a top demand of the U.S. and Israel, and the U.N. cease-fire resolution also calls for the group's eventual disarmament.
• 12/17/2006 Abbas orders early elections for Palestinians by The New York Times.
      Jerusalem - Palestinian president Abbas ordered that early presidential and parliament elections will be held as a direct challenge to the authority of Hamas.    A date was not set, leaving room for further negotiations to break the impasse with Hamas to form a unity government.    If Abbas loses in the elections the entire Palestinian Authiry could be in the hands of Hamas.
• 12/18/2006 Hama, Fatah attacks continue; Gaza Strip truce announced later by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Gunmen shot at the Palestinian foreign minister's convoy and militants fired mortar at the Abbas' office in a daylong wave of factional violence that killed three people.    A truce was finally called at midnight.
• 12/19/2006 Palestinian president says elections will go forward by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas insisted he will push ahead with the new elections, despite the wave of factional fighting.
• 12/20/2006 Palestinian leaders sign fresh cease-fire amid worries of civil war by Los Angeles Times.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Abbas and Haniyeh signed a fresh cease-fire agreement aimed at stopping nearly a week of clashes, requiring both sides to withdraw their forces from the streets, leaving police officers to maintain law and order.
• 12/23/2006 Palestinian factions trade shots by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Fierce fighting between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza and West Bank marred a shaky truce, and Abbas blocked dozens of Hamas government appointments in an intensifying power struggle.
• 12/24/2006 Israel to free $100 million in frozen Palestinian funds by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel agreed to release $100 million in frozen funds to Abbas and ease West Bank travel restrictions, a goodwill gesture in hopes for a resumption of peace talks.    Abbas and Olmert met but failed to agree on a key issue of prisoner swap, but plan to review it for a solution.
• 12/25/2006 Olmert might free Palestinian prisoners by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert indicated he might release some of the 8,000 Palestinian prisoners, to show some flexibility and generosity.    The release could give the moderate Abbas an important boost in his rivalry with Hamas.
• 12/26/2006 Israel to lift some Palestinian restrictions by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to remove 27 military roadblocks that have hindered Palestinian travel in the West Bank, one of several gestures aimed at boosting moderate Presidnet Mahmoud Abbas in his bitter struggle with Hamas.
• 12/27/2006 New West Bank settlement is approved by Israel by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel has approved a new settlement in the West Bank to house former Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.    Construction in the northern West Bank town of Maskiot began months ago, but the project was only given final approval last week.    Saeb Erekat, an aide to Abbas, condemned the construction.
• 12/29/2006 Arms shipment delivered to Palestinian forces by AP.
      Jerusalem - With Israel's blessing, Egypt delivered a large arms shipment to forces loyal to Palestinian President Abbas, the latest Israeli attempt to boost Abbas in his bloody conflict with Hamas.    Israel has been trying to reinforce Abbas' standing among his people.    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Abbas is a partner for negotiations - unlike Hamas, which rejects the existence of Israel and refuses to renounce violence.
• 12/30/2006 Israel rejects quick release of Palestinians by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel rejected Abba's request for a quick release of prisoners to bolster nascent peace moves, saying that Palestinian militants must first free a captured Israeli soldier.    The decision was setback for the moderate Abbas as he jockeyed with the radical Islamic Hamas group for popular support for achieving a state.
• 12/31/2006 Abbas makes first visit since end of street battles by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Abbas traveled to Gaza Strip in his first visit to the region since a deadly outbreak of factional violence this month.    He came to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, and attend ceremonies for the anniversary of the founding of his Fatah movement.
  
  The year 2007.
  
  
• 1/2/2007 Palestinian rivals exchange fire by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Violence erupted in the Gaza Strip Jebaliya refugee camp with warring Palestinian factions firing at each other and kidnapping rivals and abducting a foreign news photographer.   
• 1/4/2007 Five Palestinians killed in factional fighting by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Five Palestinians were killed in a resurgence of factional violence in Gaza, possibly collapsing the truce between the Hamas and Fatah factions.
• 1/5/2007 Summit does little to boost peace process by AP.
      Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt - A summit between the leaders of Israel and Egypt fell short of its goal of igniting a new round of Mideast peace efforts to stabilize the Middle East, particularly Iraq.    Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak pushed Israel to talk with Syria and pursue peace with the Palestinians.    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologized for the civilian casualties in a raid in the West Bank that killed four and wounded 20.
• 1/6/2007 Preacher who spoke against Hamas slain by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Assailants gunned down Adel Nasar, a Muslim preacher known for his anti-Hamas views, moments after he exited a mosque with a sermon criticizing the Islamic group's role in a wave of Palestinian violence.
• 1/8/2007 Abbas warns Hamas police force to disband by AP.
      Jerusalem - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas demanded that the unlawful and illegal Hamas-run paramilitary police be integrated into Fatah-dominated security forces.    Hamas warned it would resist any effort to disband the group, known as the Executive Force, which they plan to double to 12,000 men.    The Bush administration is asking Congress for $86 million to improve the equipment and training of Abbas' Presidential Guard and to expand the group, which has 3,700 members.
• 1/9/2007 Farah militants release kidnapped Hamas official by AP.
      Nablus, West Bank - Fatah gunmen released a top Hamas official after holding him hostage for two days, and at the same time are retaliating for Hamas attacks in Gaza.
• 1/14/2007 'I'm not coming with a plan,' Rice says in Mideast by The New York Times.
      Jerusalem - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livini, declared their mutal support for a bilateral diplomatic strategy enabling moderate political leaders across the Middle East.    Rice came with no proposal or plan, just to push Israeli and Palestinian leaders to move forward on a number of smaller issues, and to gather support from allies for Bush's new strategy for Iraq.
• 1/16/2007 U.S. says Palestinians, Israelis have agreed to three-way talks by AP.
      Luxor, Egypt - Hoping to breathe life into moribund peace efforts, the U.S. will gather Israeli and and Palestinian leaders in a three-way meeting to discuss an eventual independent Palestinian state, Rice said.
• 1/20/2007 Israel releases $100 million to Palestinian president by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli officials said they transferred $100 million in withheld revenues to President Abbas, and have agreed to more.    The money is not to go to the Hamas-controlled government, just to support the Palestinian people.
• 1/21/2007 Talks between Hamas leader, Abbas postponed by AP.
      Damascus, Syria - Abbas and Khaled Mashaal postponed their meeting, but did eventually have it and said they achieved major progress and hoped to resume talks within two weeks.
• 1/25/2007 Olmert says Israel will respond to Iranian threat by AP.
      Herzliya, Israel - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated Israel will respond to a nuclear threat "with all the means at our disposal," against Iran and its president Mahmoud Ahmedinajad, who has called for Israel's destruction.
• 1/26/2007 Palestinian, Israeli leaders pledge new drive for peace by AP.
      Davos, Switzerland - At the World Economic Forum, Israeli's foreign minister reached out to Abbas for a lasting peace and a future Palestinian state.    Abbas believes that the peace process could be put back on track with serious negotiations.
• 1/28/2007 3 killed as Palestinian factions battle by AP.
      Jerusalem - Three Palestinians were killed in Gaza in continuing battles between Fatah and Hamas, making the death toll 20 and 65 wounded.
• 1/30/2007 Palestinian factions declare new cease-fire by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas and Fatah factions declared a cease-fire in an effort to end factional fighting.
• 1/30/2007 Palestinian bomber kills 3 Israelis in resort town by AP.
      Eilat, Israel - A Palestinian sucicide bomber killed three Israelis at a bakery the first in nine months.    The Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade claimed responsibility, and was praised by the Hamas movement.
• 2/2/2007 Palestinian cease-fire ends with fatal clashes by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Gunfights erupted across the Gaza Strip, killing at least six people, after Hamas militants hijacked a convoy delivering supplies to the rival Fatah-allied security forces, destroying a short-lived truce.    The fighting continued into the next day leaving 17 dead as fighting rages on.
      On 2/4/07 Hamas forces tightened its hold in Gaza, and overrunning and destroying Fatah headquarters.    The Gaza Strip border is closed, locking 1.4 million Palestinians in a coastal territory just 27 miles long and 5 miles deep, with food and other basics running short.
• 2/8/2007 Palestinian leaders vow to reach deal in talks by AP.
      Mecca, Saudi Arabia - Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas held talks overlooking the Kaaba, the cube-shaped shrine toward which all Muslims face when praying, and to try to avert a civil war.    Rival Palestinian factions signed an accord aimed at ending months of bloodshed agreeing that Hamas would head a new coalition government that would respect past peace agreements with Israel.    Of course the vague promise did not include renouncing violence and recognizing Israel.    U.S. and Israel must be convinced that Hamas has moderated, before lifting a financial blockade to advance the peace process.    To boost the new government, Saudi Arabia promised $1 billion in aid to the Palestinians.
• 2/10/2007 Israeli police, Muslim rioters clash at holy site by AP.
      Jerusalem - Anger over Israeli construction near a disputed Jerusalem holy site known as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, erupted into violence as police used tear gas and stun gernades to disperse thousands of rioting Muslims.    Protests spread in the Arab world, including in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, with accusations that Israel of plotting to harm Islamic shrines.    The compound is home to the golden-capped Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa mosque and is believed to be the site where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.    Jews venerate the compound as the site of their biblical temples, and one of its outer walls -- known as the Western Wall -- is the holiest site in Judaism.
      The Israelis say the purpose of the construction project is to build a new walkway leading to the holy site.    The walkway would replace a ramp that was damaged in a snowstorm three years ago.    The Palestinians fear that the excavations under way are actually attempts to tunnel under the compound.
• 2/16/2007 Hamas Cabinet resigns to allow Fatah coalition by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The Hamas Cabinet resigned to make way for a coalition with the rival Fatah of moderate Palestinian president Abbas, despite a U.S. warning that they would shun the new government.
• 2/20/2007 Israeli-Palestinian summit brings liitle progress by AP.
      Jerusalem - A peace summit to open a new chapter for Israelis and Palestinians had no new agreements and a pledge to keep talking.
• 3/6/2007 Rival Palestinian groups wage daylong gun battle by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - A daylong gun battle between rival Palestinian factions raged in the streets of Gaza City as Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh again failed to agree on the formation of a unity government.
• 3/16/2007 Palestinan government is rejected by Israel by AP.
      Jerusaelem - Hamas and Fatah forged a unity government, but Israel quickly rejected it, saying it failed to recognize the Jewish state.
• 3/18/2007 More moderate coalition to govern Palestinians by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Palestinians installed a more moderate coalition government in hopes of persuading the international community to end its isolation and lift a year of bruising sanctions.    They also are hoping for a Palestinian state on lands the Israelis captured in 1967.    Norway, Britain, Belgium and the U.N. are considering easing restrictions.
• 3/25/2007 Rice hints at U.S. push in Mideast by AP.
      Aswan, Egypt - Rice is making her fourth trip to the Middle East in four months, to open the door that the U.S. might offer its own proposals on the Israeli-Palestinian divide.    Of course this is a push to regain its standing among Arabs to stabilize the region.    Washington is hoping to see a Saudi-brokered agreement.    On 3/27/07 Israelis Olmert agreed to resume talks with Abbas.
• 4/1/2007 Israeli leader not ready to order military into Gaza by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he's not ready to order a large-scale military operation in Gaza, despite warnings of a Hamas arms buildup in the coastal territory, who may be copying the tactics of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah.    They claim the missiles and explosives are being smuggled in through tunnels under the border with Egypt, and Hamas has doubled its fighters to 10,000.
• 4/2/2007 Israel invites Arab leaders to peace talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - In response to an Arab peace initiative, Olmert invited Arab leaders to a regional peace conference to discuss their ideas for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.    Rice and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, president of the EU helped buttress those efforts.    So far the Arab League has only recognized Israel in exchange for withdrawal from all captured territories and a just solution for the Palestinian refugees.
• 4/15/2007 Palestinian Cabinet approves security plan by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The Palestinian Cabinet approved a new security plan that calls for a joint operations room overseeing rival security forces and appeals to gunmen not to flaunt their weapons.
• 4/16/2007 Israel, Palestinian leaders make progress in talks by AP.
      Olmert and Abbas discussed the outlines of Palestinian statehood for the first time in six years, taking a step in peacemaking.    The focus was on travel and trade restrictions, and the future of the Palestinian government.
• 4/23/2007 Hamas calls for new attacks on Israel by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The Islamic militant group Hamas called for new attacks on Israel after eight Palestinians were killed in a surge of fighting.    Israeli PM Olmert said Israel was forced to strike against the militants.    On 4/25/07 Hamas militants in Gaza fired rockets and mortar shells at Israel for the first time in five months, retaliating for deadly Israeli raids in the Palestinian territories breaking the truce.
• 5/1/2007 Future of Israel's leader uncertain after war report by AP.
      Jerusalem - A investigative panel criticized Olmerts handling of the war in Lebanon, a blow to his political survival, and how the public responds to it, which blamed him for rushing into the war.
• 5/5/2007 U.S. stepping up Mideast peace efforts by AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.S. has proposed a detailed timetable for easing Palestinian movement and improving Israeli security in the coming months, part of its more hands-on involvement and a new push to revive peace talks.
• 5/10/2007 Palestinian police launch security plan by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Thousands of Palestinian police began deploying in Gaza City in the first phase of a security plan, to direct traffic, fight crime and put an end to the chaos and violence in the area.    This did not include stopping militant rocket attacks against Israel.
• 5/13/2007 Year by year, Jerusalem is becoming less Jewish by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel is facing a challenge it never expected when it captured East Jerusalem and reunited the city in the 1967 war; Each year, Jerusalem's population is becoming more Arab and less Jewish.    At present the city is 66 percent Jewish and 34 percent Arab after 40 years.    For many Palestinians, Jerusalem is an economic hub, and the city they yearn to make the capital of a future state.    More Jews are leaving the city than coming in due to religious intolerance.
• 5/16/2007 8 Palestinian policemen killed as fighting rages by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen riddled a Fatah police jeep with gunfire, killing eight in a new round of factional fighting, pushing the unity government closer to collapse.    The Hamas-Fatah power struggle was never really resolved, and may affect the peace talks.
• 5/17/2007 Hamas street battles with Fatah intensify in Gaza City by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Gunfire and explosions enveloped Gaza City as 21 more people died in the most widespread fighting of nearly a year.    Street battles turned the city into a war zone.    Hamas also targeted Israel, firing barrages of rockets in the Israeli town of Sderot.    Israel retaliated.
• 5/18/2007 Israel again pounds Palestinian militants in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft fired missiles in two strilkes east of Gaza City killing four Palestinians who were Hamas militants, a retaliation of Hamas rocket barrages into Israel.    The Palestinian factions at the same time were engaged in fighting each other.
• 5/20/2007 Israel in '67: three weeks of anxiety by AP.
      Washington - There has hardly been an Arab peace plan in the past 40 years, that does not demand a return of land captured on June 4, 1967.    Israel on that date scored one of the most stunning victories of the 20^th Century.    The Arabs have spent four decades trying to undo its consequences.
      One source claims that on May 16, 1967 Egypt's president imposed a naval blockade at the port of Eilat, which was an open act of war.    The Soviet Union had warned that Israel was preparing to attack Syria, which led to a buildup of troops, and involved Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco.    God works in mysterious ways, since all these countries had land promised to Abraham.
• 5/23/2007 Israel threatens Hamas after deadly rocket attack by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's deputy defense minister threatened to target Hamas political leaders after a rocket attack by militants.    They did such with air strikes on two suspected arms caches and two Hamas bases.    On 5/25/07 Israeli aircraft fired a missile that exploded close to the house of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to pressure the stop of the rocket barrages.    On the following day Israeli missile strikes hit a succession of militant targets, one of a dozen air strikes over the past 10 days killing 48.    On 5/27/07 Hamas hardened their stance and would not consider a truce, calling for more attacks on Israel.    Around 225 rockets have landed in Israeli towns since May 15.
• 5/30/2007 Israeli, Palestinian leaders will meet by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Olmert and Abbas will try to halt two weeks of violence and get a truce.
• 6/3/2007 Hamas might agree to cease-fire for 1 year by AP.
      Jerusalem - Hamas may be willing to a cease-fire with Israel for one year, after not firing any rockets at Israel for two days.
• 6/13/2007 Hamas, Fatah battles rage in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hundreds of Hamas fighters firing rockets and mortars captured the headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza, which looks like a civil war.    Fatah has suspended the activities of its ministers in the government if the fighting does not stop.    Abbas accused Hamas of trying to stage a coup.    Fatah forces were outgunned and reinforcements never arrived.
• 6/14/2007 Hamas appears close to seizing Gaza Strip by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas fighters attacked Fatah's main security bases and the president's compound, appearing to take control of the entire Gaza Strip.    This victory could split Palestinians into a Hamas-controlled Gaza and a Fatah-run West Bank, pushing the prospect of statehood even farther away, and set the stage for a bloody confrontation with Israel.
• 6/14/2007 Shimon Peres chosen Israel's ninth president by AP.
      Jerusalem - Shimon Peres helped build the Israeli army, and has served as prime minister a few times and won the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts to end the conflict with the Palestinians.    At 83, he was chosen as Israel's ninth president and pledged to unify the country and restore the dignity of the office.    Peres won the support of 86 of parliament's 120 members.
• 6/15/2007 Palestinian president dissolves government amid fighting by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Abbas declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Hamas-led unity government after the militant group took control of the Gaza Strip.    Hamas gloated in their victory.    Abbas said he will install a new government.    About 2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, while 1.4 million reside in Gaza.
• 6/16/2007 Victory might force Hamas to ease stance by AP.
      Jerusalem - Hamas' victory could be a bad situation since Israel controls its borders and the international community will likely shun it in favor of the Fatah controlled West Bank.    They will have a hard time providing for 1.4 million people.    They already started offering amnesty and releasing kidnapped persons as an awarness of the risks of isolation and forcing them to soften their stance.    The Fatah side will probably get off of international boycott and improve life in that territory.    Forming a Palestinian state is probably out of the question now.    The Hamas probably has an Iranian-backed Islamic extremists at their doorstep.    Abbas has already received pledges of support from Israel, the U.S., Egypt, Jordan, the U.N. and Saudi Arabia.
• 6/17/2007 Cabinet supports Barak as defense minister by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Israeli Cabinet approved the appointment of Ehud Barak, a leader of the dovish Labor Party, as defense minister, making a comeback of the former prime minister.
• 6/17/2007 Fatah faction controls West Bank by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Fatah faction moved to consolidate control of the West Bank in order to swear in a new government without Hamas.
• 6/19/2007 Abbas open to peace talks by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas told President Bush that it is time to restart Mideast peace talks, and Israel is open to negotiate with a government without Hamas.    Militants in Gaza have fired rockets into Israel.    The U.S. and EU said they will be ending a 15-month embargo to Abbas' new government.
• 6/21/2007 Bush proposes Blair as envoy to the Mideast by AP.
      Washington - The U.S. is pressing British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who leaves office next month, to become a special envoy to the Middle East representing the world powers, to lay groundwork for a Palestinian State.
• 6/22/2007 Lebanon claims victory over militant group by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's defense minister declared victory over the Fatah Islam militant group led by Hezbollah, saying it has been crushed after a monthlong military assault on its stronghold in a northern refugee camp.
• 6/22/2007 Egypt calls summit in effort to isolate Hamas by AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - Egypt moved forcefully to isolate Hamas, calling for a regional summit next week including Israel and Palestinians.    It is intended to prevent the new power of Islamic radicals in Gaza from strengthening fundamentalists on their own soil.    They fear also Gaza will become a stronghold for Iranian influence on their doorsteps, igniting Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
• 6/24/2007 Israel arrests founder of Hamas military wing by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Israel arrested the founder of the Hamas military wing and moderate Abbas pushed forward with a plan to cut off cash to the Islamic militants.    He rejected an offer of dialogue from the top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
• 6/25/2007 Israel to release funds to Palestinian president by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel agreed to release needed funds to Abbas,
• 6/27/2007 Israel to free 250, assist West Bank by AP.
      Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt - Israel's prime minister Olmert promised to free 250 Palestinian prisoners to help Abbas at the summit which also included Egypt and Jordan.    Abbas hoped that this meeting will prepare the groundwork for future talks on the peace process.
• 6/28/2007 At least 11 Palestinians die in Israeli incursions by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli army incursions into the Gaza Strip left 11 Palestinians dead in fighting since Hamas took control.
• 7/7/2007 Report accuses Israelis of land grab by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Palestinians claim for a future state are disputing an attempt to grab more land in the West Bank with nine in 10 Israeli settlements sprawling beyond their official boundaries.    Israeli settlements encroach on unallocated land even though 91 percent of the land in their own jurisdictions remains empty.    They claim that 10 percent of the land officially allocated to the settlements is privately owned Palestinian land that Israel seized.
• 7/9/2007 Arab League to send envoys by AP.
      Jerusalem - The 22-country Arab League will send envoys on a historic first mission to Israel to discuss an Arab peace initiative and how it might support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli diplomats said.    On the same day the Israel's Cabinet approved the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners, hoping to bolster Abbas in his power struggle with the Hamas.    The League visit would be a diplomatic coup for Israel, since historically it has been hostile toward the Jewish state, but now has concerns over Islamic extremists in the region.    Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers will arrive first for talks with Ehud Olmert.    Most of the Leagues discussion of an Arab peace plan would trade full Arab recognition of Israel for an Israeli withdrawal from all lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war and the creation of a Palestinian state.    Israel rejected the plan outright when Saudi Arabia first proposed it in 2002.
• 7/13/2007 Olmert calls for peace talks with Syria by AP.
      Kiryat Shemona, Israel - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was willing to start peace talks with Syria, to calm jitters over reports of a Syrian buildup on its border on the anniversary of the war with Hezbollah.    Syrian President Bashar Assad also called for reopening peace talks, but Olmert wants him to cut his ties with Hezbollah and with Hamas militants.
• 7/15/2007 Abbas installs interim government of moderates by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas consolidated his control of the West Bank, installing an interim government of moderates to lead indefinitely.    The Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip, called a special session of the Palestinian parliament to challenge the new government, where any new government requires parliament approval.
• 7/17/2007 Bush calls Palestine, Israel to talk by AP.
      Washington - Declaring a "moment of choice" in the Middle East, President Bush said he would call Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region to a peace conference aimed at restarting negotiations and moving faster toward a Palestinian state.    He pledged more U.S. financial support for the moderate Palestinian government of Abbas.    Bush said Abbas and his new prime minister, Salam Fayyad, "are striving to build the institutions of a modern democracy" while Hamas "has demonstrated that it is devoted to extremism and murder."    The Hamas claims that Bush's promises of two states has only divided our people into two governemnts.    Israel welcomed Bush's remarks and share the vision of two states and support the moderate Palestinians who believe in peace.
• 7/18/2007 Hamas rejects Bush's offer of peace talks by AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - Hamas rejected Bush's proposal for a Mideast peace conference, denouncing it as nothing but lies, and Syria said it fears the offer is "just words."    Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan welcomed Bush's proposal with an Arab land-for-peace deal in the talks.
• 7/26/2007 Arab League visits, offer peace proposal by AP.
      Jerusalem - In their WTO wannabe mode and first trip an Arab League delegation went to Jerusalem to promote a plan for peace with Israel, offering security, recognition and acceptance.
• 7/24/2007 Hezbollah rockets can hit all of Israel, leader says by AP.
      Beirut, Lebanon - Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah said that it has rockets that can reach all of Israel, including Tel Aviv, which is a grave violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which ended last year's war.
• 7/27/2007 Abbas wants peace deal with Israel within 1 year by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas said he hopes to reach a full peace deal with Israel within a year, along with promises from Bush that he would push hard to conclude a Mideast agreement before he leaves the White House in January 2009.    In the Gaza Strip, Israeli air strikes killed five Palestinians, including the military leader of the Islamic Jihad there.
• 7/30/2007 Israel agrees with U.S. on upgrading Saudi military by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert broke from his opposition to U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia as a counterweight to Iranian influence.    Also included is a sharp increase in defense aid to Israel and retain a fighting edge over other countries in the region.    The proposed arms deal would include advanced weapons and air systems that enhance the striking ability of Saudi warplanes.    At the same time the U.S. is seeking to strengthen other moderate Mideast allies to Iran's growing influence.
• 8/6/2007 Gunmen give up arms as Israel, Fatah improve ties by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Most gunmen with links to Abbas' Fatah movement have given up their weapons as part of an amnesty deal intended to improve ties between Israel and Abbas' moderate Palestinian leaders.    Relations between Israel and moderate West Bank leaders have improved rapidly since the violent June takeover by the militant Hamas.
• 8/7/2007 Leaders hold first meeting on Palestinian soil by AP.
      Jericho, West Bank - Olmert and Abbas met for the first time on Palestinian soil to start negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state and a final peace deal in the biblical oasis of Jericho.    Both had very different ideas about what should happen next, as to final borders and removal of settlements and how to divide Jerusalem.    There is a hope for progress ahead of the Mideast peace conference in the U.S. in November.    Olmert wants to hold out as it is too early to start negotiations.    They will meet again on the 28^th in Jerusalem.
• 8/19/2007 Iranian leader calls Israel standard bearer of Satan by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iranian Presidtration fee was not paid to a Gaza bank accountent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel was the standard bearer of Satan and the Jewish state would soon fall apart, as he spoke at a religious conference and did not elaborate on what he meant.    Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has referred to the U.S. as "the Great Satan."
• 9/23/2007 Hamas, Fatah wrangle over Gaza pilgrims by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - It was all about a quota of who could make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, known as the hajj, which is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for Muslims, and around 4 million make the trip annually, which is in December.    Both are accusing each other of politicizing religion.    Gaza's quota was around 2,100 and so far 11,000 have registered.    The problem was the $420 registration fee was not paid to a Gaza bank account, and after the June Hamas takeover they ordered pilgrims to pay their fees to a bank under its control.    Hamas has two weeks to return the fees.
• 9/24/2007 Rice hopeful Arabs will be at peace talks by AP.
      United Nations - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed hope that key Arab nations, including Syria, will attend a Mideast peace conference this fall hosted by Bush.    The committee members are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.    Key players in the promotion of peace are the U.S., U.N., E.U. and Russia.
• 9/27/2007 Israeli forces kill 8, wound 25 in Gaza Strip action by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israeli military forces killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded 25 in an air strike and tank-led ground operation.
• 9/30/2007 Hamas struggles to run Gaza Strip by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The Islamic militants are selling confiscated cigarettes, smuggling cash through underground tunnels and auctioning off government vehicles to make ends meet in the face of a global economic boycott.    No bank will deal directly with Hamas, so it tries to receive funds from Iran, Arab countries and Islamic charities abroad.    Hamas is feeling the squeeze.
• 10/3/2007 Israel completes release of Palestinian prisoners by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel completed the release of 86 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture meant to improve prospects for a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in November.    Olmert and Abbas will start working on their joint visiion of a peace deal at a meeting in Jerusalem to present to the international community.    On the following day the leaders took a step toward peace talks asking aides to draft a statement of the principles that will guide negotiations and deal with the tough issues.
• 10/9/2007 Israel speaks of a divided Jerusalem by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli politicians and Olmert talked about dividing Jerusalem, signaling a possible shift in Israeli opinion about one of the Mideast's most contentious issues, which has derailed negotiations in the past.    Although their talks still fall way short of the Palestinian expectations to establish their capital.    The Palestinians are ready to yield parts of the West Bank to Israel if they get an equal amount of Israeli territory.
• 10/13/2007 Hamas: Peace talks 'trap' for Palestinians by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas' top leaders and Syria warned the moderate Palestinian president not to "fall into the trap" of an upcoming U.S.-sponsored peace conference with Israel.    Rice opened an intense round of diplomacy to bring Israelis and Palestinians close enough to make a planned peace conference in the U.S. worthwhile.
• 10/21/2007 Two more die as Gaza standoff continues by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The Hamas and Fatah traded fire killing a young man and a boy on the fourth day of some of the heaviest internal fighting since they seized Gaza.
• 10/22/2007 Plot to kill Olmert foiled, Israel says by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli officials said that they foiled a recent attempt by Palestinian militants to assassinate Olmert during a trip to the West Bank.
• 10/24/2007 Israeli airstrike kills top Gaza militant by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Mubarak Al-Hassanat, 37, was driving on Gaza's coastal road when his Jeep was hit by missiles.
• 10/25/2007 Israel to fight rockets with power cut by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel unveiled a new tactic aimed at deterring Palestinians from firing rockets out of the Gaza Strip -- it will cut off Gaza's electricity bit by bit as a pressure tactic every time rockets hit Israeli territory.    Israel provides more than half of Gaza's electricity, and any power cutoff is sure to make life more difficult for people in the impoverished region, and will draw harsh international criticism.
• 10/28/2007 As Mideast talks loom, Rice consults figures in past efforts by AP.
      Washington - Rice is looking to the past for lessons on how to make next month's Mideast peace conference a success.    In the upcoming meeting in Annapolis, Md. she is seeking out major players responsible for successes and failures in the past such as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, James Baker, and Dennis Ross.
• 10/29/2007 Israel trims Gaza fuel supply by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel began cutting fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip, keeping a promise to step up pressure on Gaza's Hamas rulers after months of Palestinian rocket attacks.    The result will affect hospitals, water pumping stations and sewage.
• 11/5/2007 Olmert: Progress possible during Bush's term by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert said that vigorous peace negotiations could go far toward establishing an independent Palestinian state before Bush leaves office, but did not say a final deal is possible in that time frame.
• 11/11/2007 Egypt, Saudi Arabia back Mideast peace conference by AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - Egypt and Saudi Arabia backed an upcoming peace conference as a way to set the stage for a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, but it was unclear on whether the two countries would attend.
• 11/14/2007 Gaza violence prompts arrests, renewed bitterness by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas arrested hundreds of Fatah supporters after opening fire on an estimated 250,000 Palestinians while leaving a rally marking the anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat.    Seven civilians were killed and 85 wounded in the worst outbreak of violence.    Olmert has sent messages to Syrian president Assad that he is interested in reopening peace talks and suggested Israel will return territory it captured 40 years ago.    This would help in winning Damascus over in a regional effort to counter Iran's influence.
• 11/15/2007 Hamas restricts media, vows to curb public gatherings in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza strip - Hamas rulers banned journalists from working in the coastal strip without press restrictions and imposed restraints on public gatherings.    Discontent has grown because of Israel's closure of Gaza's borders which shut factories, loss of jobs and driven prices up.    Abbas called for the overthrow of Gaza's Hamas rulers during the discontent, but did not urge an uprising.
• 11/21-27/2007 Mideast talks set for next week by AP.
      Washington - Israel and the Palestinians and 49 countries have received their invitations to The U.S. conference on November 27, for 3 days.    Bush wants to deliver a peace deal before his term expires, and the hope is a state by January 2009.    Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians to persuade Arab nations to attend the conference.    Saudia Arabia and some other Arab nations grudgingly agreed to attend.    Hamas was shocked that Arab nations decided to attend, with a recognition of the Jewish state on the tables.    Syria finally announced it would attend the peace talks, mainly over the prospects of regaining the land in Golan Heights they lost in 1967, and to avoid isolation from the rest of the Arab world.
• 11/27/2007 Bush, Mideast leaders hopeful on peace talks by AP.
      Washington - President Bush met with Israel and the palestinians to explore whether peace is possible a day before the conference.    neither party were able to frame a blueprint for the talks before they came to the U.S.    Bush sees this as a coming together of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security.    Achieving this goal requires difficult compromises.
• 11/28/2007 Israelis, Palestinians to restart peace talks by AP.
      Annapolis, Md. - Olmert and Abbas shook hands and told international backers and skeptical Arab neighbors that they are ready for hard bargaining toward an independent Palestinian homeland as the 44-nation conference convened.    Negotiating teams will hold their first session in the region on Dec. 12, with Abbas and Olmert, and many of the nations at this conference will gather again on Dec. 17 in Paris to raise money for the cash-strapped Palestinians.    The U.S. as an agreement has committed to be an arbiter of whether both sides are living up to promises unfilled in the past.
• 11/29/2007 Road to Mideast peace may be rocky by AP.
      Washington - Bush savored the beginning of a new Mideast peace push with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and believes peace will be possible eventually on the third day of the conference.
• 12/10/2007 Olmert ally discusses division of Jerusalem by AP.
      Jerusalem - A key ally of Olmert said that Israel will hold on to all Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem but would have to relinquish Arab neighborhoods in a peace agreement with the Palestinians.    This was commented by Vice Premier Haim Ramon to defuse U.S. criticism of Israeli plan to expand one of its Jewish neihgborhoods in east Jerusalem.    It is possible that some Palestinians might consider a division along the lines Ramon described.
• 12/12/2007 Israeli offensive threatens peace talks with Palestine by AP.
      Khan Younis, Gaza Strip - Israeli tanks and bulldozers pushed into the southern Gaza Strip killing five Islamic militants and trapping hundreds of people in their homes.    Another extremist died from an airstrike.    Palestinian officials said the offensive, and a construction project in the Har Homa neighborhood of disputed east Jerusalem, would dominate peace talks today with Israel.
• 12/13/2007 Israeli-Palestinian talks marred by rockets, dispute by AP.
      Jerusalem - A Palestinian rocket barrage, an Israel army incursion in Gaza and a fresh land dispute in Jerusalem marred the first Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in seven years.    The two sides traded barbs and accusations and wrapped up a 90-minute session without any achievements, but agreed to continue talking in the coming weeks.
• 12/18/2007 Palestinians get $7.4 billion in aid pledges at Paris meeting by AP.
      Paris - Eighty-seven countries and international organizations pledged $7.4 billion in aid to the Palestinians over the next three years to help them create a viable, peaceful and secure state of their own.    Abbas said to the conference without that aid for the treasury to fulfill its role there would have been total catastrophe in the West Bank and Gaza.    Now the push is to get Israel to ease blockage of the Gaza Strip and checkpoints to help the Palestine economy to grow.
• 12/24/2007 Israeli prime minister rejects truce with Hamas by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert pledged to continue attacking Gaza militants, ruling out negotiations with Hamas since they have not halted rocket attacks.
• 12/27/2007 U.S. asked to support Israeli construction freeze by AP.
      Jerusalem - Abbas will demand Israel commit at a peace summit to a freeze on all settlement construction and has appealed to Rice for support.
• 12/28/2007 Israeli, Palestinians resume talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to put aside a dispute over Israeli construction in a Jerusalem neighborhood and get down to work on a final peace agreement.    Both sides have agreed to setting a 2008 target for a final peace agreement.
• 12/31/2007 Israel: No peace deal until Palestinians halt militants by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert furious over the death of two Israelis hiking in the West Bank said there will be no peace until Palestinians crack down on militants, a declaration that clouds a coming visit by Bush.
  
  The year 2008.
  
  
• 1/1/2008 Palestinian pilgrims protest closed crossing by AP.
      El-Arish, Egypt - Palestinian pilgrims broke windows and set mattresses ablaze at temporary camps in Egypt as relatives rallied across the border in Gaza, demanding their kin be allowed to return through a crossing controlled by Hamas.    The pilgrims, who are returning from the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and include some Hamas militants, have rejected Egypt's demands that they enter Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Aouja border crossing.    They want to return through Rafah, a direct crossing where Israel has no control.
• 1/4/2008 Israeli air strikes kill 9 Palestinians in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The Israeli army stepped up a broad offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing at least nine Palestinians after militants fired a Katyusha rocket that struck deep in Israel.
• 1/5/2008 Construction violates peace plan, Olmert says by AP.
      Jerusalem - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called continued Israeli construction in West Bank settlements a breach of Israel's obligations under a recently revived peace plan.    The remarks came just days before President Bush arrives in the region to build on the momentum created at a Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md.
• 1/9/2008 Bush trying to sell idea of freedom by Deb Riechmann, AP.
      Washington - President Bush has eagerly waved a flag for democracy in the Mideast from afar, but now he will step gingerly into the troubled region.    Bush in the past proclaimed that the U.S. would work for democratic reform in every nation and culture with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.    His attempt to sell democratic ideals to Middle Esatern leaders who are focus more on who will succeed him and how political turmoil will play out in Pakistan.    He will still try to push how regional security is important not only for democracy, but also for economic growth.
• 1/10/2008 Bush in Israel to push for peace by AP.
      Jerusalem - President Bush, in Israel for the first time demanded that Israelis shut down unauthorized settlements on Palestinian territory, called on Palestinian leaders to block rocket attacks against Israel and issued a sharp warning to Iran.    He was not there to impose a peace agreement on his 8-day trip to the Middle East, but is nudging them toward an accord and make some difficult choices in a last ditch try with regional support in confronting Iran.    He called a halt to Israel's military occupation of land the Palestinians claim for a state.    Some think this is Bush's attempt to achieve some positive legacy amid the wreckage of his foreign policy or that the situation in this region is disintergrating dangerously, and he had no new ideas other than the familiar two-state peace approach.
• 1/16/2008 Israel attack kills 19, including son of Hamas leader by AP.
      Gaza City,Gaza Strip - Israel troops going after militants who launched rockets every day, killed a son of Gaza's most powerful leader along with 18 other Palestinians in the bloodiest day of fighting since Hamas militants seized control last summer.
• 1/17/2008 Mubarak endorses Bush's plan for peace by Anne Gearan, AP.
      Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt - Bush's plan for a Mideast peace agreement got a welcome endorsement from a nation long seen as a key Arab mediator, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who likes the U.S. aid given to them.
• 1/19/2008 Israel seals all Gaza crossings, strikes Hamas targets by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel sought to end a surge in rocket attacks from Gaza, sending its air force into Gaza City to choke off shipments of fuel and food across its border with the strip.    They flattened a wing of the Palestinan Interior Ministry as a message that further rocket attacks could cause the conflict to spiral.    Cutting off supplies is an attempt to pressure Hamas to halt the rocket fire.    Hamas still sent 16 rockets into southern Israel.
• 1/20/2008 Israeli town suffers under rocket fire by Aron Heller, AP.
      Sderot, Israel - Sderot has been hit by thousands of rockets and much of the population has fled.
• 1/23/2008 Israel ends blockade, sends fuel for electricity by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel sent fuel to Gaza's power plant, easing its 5-day blockade amid international concern about a humanitarian crisis, the Palestinians were in a blackout for two days.
• 1/24/2008 Gazans stream through border breach by AP.
      Rafah, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of Gazans flooded into Egypt through a border fence blown up by militants - punching a hole in Israel's airtight closure of the Gaza Strip.    They cleared out stores in a frenzy in the Egyptian border town buying up everything.    The U.S. expressed concern about the border breach and Israel demanded that Egypt take control of its borders.    This forced Israel, Egypt and the international community to rethink a policy of trying to weaken Gaza's Hamas rulers by keeping the territory sealed with 1.5 million Gazans already bitterly poor.    They may ease up on it hoping Hamas to halt rocket fire to give Abbas and Israel time to make progress on a U.S.-backed peace deal.
• 2/3/2008 Egypt, Hamas agree to close border today by AP.
      Rafah, Gaza Strip - Egypt will close its breached border wall with Gaza in coordination with Hamas, who wants it to reopen the border.    The following day Egypt sealed its border, restoring a tight blockade.    Shin-Bet security chief Yuval Diskin told Israel's Cabinet that long-range rockets, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missles crossed into Gaza from Egypt during the border breach.
• 2/11/2008 Israeli premier rules out Gaza invasion by AP.
      Jerusalem - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel won't conduct a broad military operation in the Gaza Strip, and said it will be impossible to reach a peace agreement with Palestinians as long as the Hamas rulers continue to foment violence.
• 2/13/2008 Israeli plan to build in Jerusalem draws ire by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel announced plans to build more than 1,000 homes in disputed east Jerusalem, infuriating Palestinians and triggering a new crisis in already troubled peace talks.    The area is now home to 180,000 Israelis, and Israel expects to retain Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem under a peace deal, where the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.
• 2/16/2008 U.N. official slams Gaza conditions by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The 8-month closure of Gaza has created grim and miserable conditions depriving Palestinians of their basic dignity, the U.N.'s humanitarian chief John Holmes said.    He urged that borders be reopened to relieve suffering.
• 2/17/2008 Hamas accuses Abbas of assassination plot by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas rulers accused aides of Abbas of being behind an alleged plot to assassinate Gaza Prime Minister Isamil Haniyeh of Hamas, which Abbas denied.
• 2/18/2008 Army gets free hand to attack Gaza militants by AP.
      Sderot, Israel - Israel PM Olmert gave his military a free hand to attack Gaza militants after a rocket slammed into a house in Sderot, where the visiting U.N. humanitarian chief had just called for an end to the daily salvos.
• 2/29/2008 Israel warns of Gaza invasion by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza strip - The Israeli city of Ashkelon and its 110,000 residents were at the center of a rocket barrage using Iranian-made Grad rockets, which provoked Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak to warn that he would invade Gaza, to halt the attacks.
• 3/2/2008 Israeli strikes kill 54 in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops turned heavy firepower on rocket squads bombarding southern Israel, killing 54 Palestinians.    Of course the Palestinian leaders called the killings a genocide and threatened to call off peace talks.    The Palestinians continued to fire a steady stream of at least 50 rockets and mortar attacks on Israeli targets in defiance of the assault.    Israel brushed off international criticism and vowed to press ahead with its offensive until militants halt rocket attacks and to weaken the Hamas rule or bring it down.    Gaza militants fired 25 more rockets at southern Israel.    For Israel this is just self-defense.
• 3/9/2008 Peace talks to proceed despite seminary attack by AP.
      Jerusalem - The peace talks will proceed within days despite a shooting attack that killed eight students at a Jewish seminary, as Abbas urged Israel not to abandon peace efforts.
• 3/15/2008 U.S. envoy prods Israel, Palestinians on talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Bush administration's Mideast envoy pushed Israel and the Palestinians to speed up peace negotiations at the first meeting the U.S. has attended since talks resumed nearly four months ago.
• 4/1/2008 Israel to build homes in disputed areas by AP.
      Jerusalem - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left Israel, and Israel announce plans to build 1,400 homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.    Israel does not recognize the land as belonging to the Palestinians.
• 4/11/2008 Hamas threatens attacks after fuel cutoff by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel cut off the only source of fuel to Gaza's 1.4 million people after a deadly Palestinian raid on the Israeli fuel depot.    Hamas rulers warned more attacks will follow, as resentment grows over the blockade.
• 4/21/2008 Greek, Armenian priests fight at shrine in Israel by AP.
      Jerusalem - Dozens of Greek and Armenian priests and worshippers exchanged blows at one of Chritianity's holiest shrines on Orthodox Palm Sunday, and hit police with palm fronds.    The fight came amid growing rivalry over religious rights at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site in Jerusalem where, tradition says, Jesus was buried and ressurrected.    It erupted when Armenian clergy evicted a Greek priest from their midst, pushed him to the ground and kicked him.    The Eastern Orthodox churches, including the Armenian and Greek Orthodox, follow a different calendar from Western Christians and celebrate Easter next Sunday.
• 4/22/2008 Carter: Hamas willing to accept Israel by AP.
      Jerusalem - Former President Carter said that the Islamic group Hamas was willing to accept Israel as a neighbor next door, but the militants did not match their upbeat words with steps to halt violence.    Hamas, which advocates destruction of the Jewish state, but only offered a 10-year truce if Israel withdraws from the West Bank and Jerusalem first.    Then they fired seven rockets on Israel contradicting the groups positive words about coexistence.
• 4/24/2008 Israel sends fuel to Gaza power plant by AP.
      Jerusalem - The shutdown of Gaza's only power plant was averted after Israel began pumping about 260,000 gallons of diesel fuel to the territory, enough to run the plant for at least three days.
• 4/26/2008 Abbas says peace talks with Bush a failure by AP.
      Washington - Palestinian President Abbas said he failed to achieve any progress in Middle East peace talks with President Bush and went home, pessimistic about achieving any deal with Israel this year.
• 5/5/2008 U.S. pressures Israel on West Bank issues by AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.S. leaned on Israel to lift restrictions that chafe West Bank residents and the consequences of Israel's homebuilding.
• 5/6/2008 Israeli president compares Iran to Hitler's Germany by AP.
      Jerusalem - Before Israel's 60th anniversary, Israeli President Shimon Peres compared the Iranian nuclear threat to Hitler's Germany and said engaging Hamas rulers would be like talking to a wall.    He also said he wished for Israel to be a leader in the world of science.    President Bush's visited Israel on the 15th and declared that Israel's 60-year triumph over war and tragedy shows democracy can succeed everywhere.
• 5/17/2008 Bin Laden vows to fight Israel for Palestinians by AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - Osama bin Laden vowed to fight Israel for the liberation of the Palestinians, claiming their cause is at the heart of al-Qaida's holy war with the West, just after Israel's 60th anniversary and Bush's visit.
• 5/18/2008 Israel, Egyptian leaders to seek Gaza cease-fire by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will meet Egyptian President Mubarak to discuss efforts to work out a cease-fire between the Hamas rulers and Israel, and focus on Egyptian efforts to prevent arms smuggling into the Palestinian territory.
• 5/22/2008 Israel, Syria restart peace talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel and Syria unexpectedly announced that they have resumed peace talks after an 8-year break, developed indirectly through Turkish mediators.    Israel wants to reduce Syrian support for anti-Israel militants in Gaza and Lebanon; Syria is eager to improve ties with the U.S. and end its international isolation.    Obstacles are Israel's opposition to return the strategic Golan Heights to Syria.    On June 11th they agreed to indirect peace negotiations next week on June 16th in Ankara, Turkey.
• 5/23/2008 Palestinian bomber hits Gaza crossing by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - A Palestinian detonated a powerful truck bomb at the main pedestrian crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, causing extensive damage that dealt a serious blow to Gazan's hopes of opening their sealed-off territory.
• 6/14/2008 Israel to build homes in east Jerusalem by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel announced plans to build 1,300 more homes in east Jerusalem, bringing the number of homes approved to 3,000.    The U.S. told Israel that such moves undermine the U.S.-backed peace talks this year, and will not regard any settlements Israel is building as permanent.
• 6/18/2008 Cease-fire reached in Gaza by AP.
      Jerusalem - Hamas said it has reached a cease-fire or six-month truce with Israel meant to halt a cycle of deadly rocket attacks, to begin at 11 p.m. today after months of Egyptian negotiations, and fighting that has killed 7 Israelis and more than 400 Palestinians, with also an easing of the punishing blockade of the coastal strip.
• 7/25/2008 Panel approves new West Bank settlement by AP.
      Jerusalem - A key committee has approved construction of the first Jewish settlement in the West Bank in a decade in the Jordan Valley Rift, an arid north-south strip that forms Israel's eastern flank with Jordan.
• 7/27/2008 Hamas arrests 200 Fatah supporters by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas security arrested about 200 Fatah supporters, who were blamed for an explosion that killed 5 Hamas members and a 6-yearold girl.    Fatah denied involvement in the blast.
• 7/31/2008 Israel's Olmert will step down by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, facing a widening corruption probe, said he will step down for the primary in September, which will dim hopes for a U.S.-led peace deal before Bush leaves office in January.
• 8/3/2008 9 dead as Palestinians' infighting intensifies by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas forces battled Fatah fighters with mortars and machine guns, leaving at least 9 dead.    On the 5th Hamas claimed to have removed the last pocket of its rival Fatah movement, a setback for Abbas.
• 8/7/2008 Israel to free 150 Palestinan prisner by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's premier pledged to free more than 150 Palestinian prisoners in a meeting with Abbas, to energize sluggish peace talks, and boost prestige to the embattled Palestinian leader, whose Fatah movement is engaged in a tense power struggle with the Hamas.    On the 18th they released 200 prisoners and plans are to release more of the 9,000 prisoners for the upcoming month of Ramadan.
• 8/12/2008 Gaza Strip grapples with cash shortage by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - A severe cash shortage gripped the Hamas controlled area as tens of thousands of people were unable to withdraw money from banks in the territory.    Israel promised to transfer more money to Gaza even as Gaza militants fired a rocket into Israel's Sderot.
• 9/1/2008 Abbas rejects Israel's interim peace offer by AP.
      Jerusalem - Abbas rejected Israel's idea of an interim peace agreement at a summit, insisting on an all-or-nothing approach that ruled out an accord by a January target date.
• 9/4/2008 French leader urges peace with Israel by AP.
      Damascus, Syria - French President Nicolas Sarkozy encouraged Syria to pursue face-to-face peace talks with Israel during his first trip to the Arab nation and to push for preventing Iranian influence in Damascus.    On the 5th Syrian President Bashar Assad said he offered a proposal for peace with Israel but refused to cut off ties with Hezbollah and militant Palestinians, a key Israeli demand, and talks will have to wait until Israel gets a new PM and the U.S. a new president.
• 9/12/2008 Embattled Olmert vows quick departure by AP.
      Jerusalem - Ehud Olmert pledged to immediately resign as Israel's PM once his party chooses his successor of his Kadima Party.
• 9/17/2008 Olmert, Abbas confer on peace effort by AP.
      Jerusalem - Olmert and Abbas discussed their push to forge a peace agreement by the end of the year.
• 9/18/2008 Livni likely to be first female leader since '74 by AP.
      Jerusalem - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won a clear victory in Kadima Party's primary election and in good position to become Israel's first female leader in 34 years and would help the peace talks to proceed.    Livni will have 42 days to form a new ruling coalition.
• 9/22/2008 Olmert gone, Israel regroups by AP.
      Jerusalem - Livni wasted no time working to put together a new government, a former lawyer and agent in the Mossad spy agency, met with leaders from the Shas Party.
• 9/24/2008 Smuggling tunnel destroyed; 2 dead by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Two bodies were pulled from a collapsed smuggling tunnel between Gaza and Egypt, after Egyptian forces blew up the tunnel.    Palestinians use dozens of tunnels to smuggle in weapons, cash and contraband.
• 9/29/2008 U.S. provides advanced radar system by AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.S. has provided Israel with an advanced radar system for an early warning in case of an Iranian missile attack.
• 10/6/2008 Time running out on peace talks, Livni says by AP.
  
• 10/7/2008 Hamas will replace Palestinian president Abbas with one of their own after Jan. 8 by AP.
  
• 10/21/2008 Livni gets more time to form a coalition by AP.
  
• 10/23/2008 Israel considers Saudi peace plan for region by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli leaders are considering a Saudi plan offering a peace between Israel and the Arab world in exchange for lands captured during the 1967 war, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.    Barak said it may be time to pursue an overall peace deal for the region because individual negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians have made little progress.    Saudi Arabia first proposed the peace initiative in 2002, offering pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.    Sounds to me like they are right back at square one.    Israeli President Shimon Peres will discuss an Arab proposal for comprehensive Mideast peace when he meets with Egypt's leader President Hosni Mubarak today.
• 10/26/2008 Coalition government reportedly falls through by AP.
      Jerusalem - Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni has given up efforts to form a coalition governemt, and will recommend early elections.
• 10/27/2008 Israeli party leader sets stage for vote by AP.
      Jerusalem - The stage is set for months of political paralysis, and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, a former PM and a critic of the peace process, is in position to become the country's next leader in its third national election in six years.
• 11/2/2008 Some Israelis feel they must attack Iran now by AP.
      Jerusalem - With international efforts to increase sanctions against Iran at a standstill, many Israelis believe their nation alone stands in the way of Tehran building nuclear weapons.    Israel acknowledges a unilateral attack is frought with danger and might fail to cripple Iran's bomb-making abilities.    Most of the international community including Arab countries quietly wants Israel to launch a strike, but only if it succeeds, and do their dirty work for them.    In 1981 the Jewish state bombed the Osirak reactor in Iraq, and last year, when it launched a unilateral strike on a suspect site in Syria.    Since the world has resigned to the fact that Iran is going to be a nuclear power, Israel must look out for itself.    If they did strike it could widen the regional conflict that would force the entry of American troops, who already has its hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the ongoing global economic crisis which strengthens that opposition and would raise the price of oil again.
• 11/6/2008 Peres, Saudi king to attend conference by AP.
  
• 11/6/2008 Israel-Hamas violence escalates, Rice heads to Middle East as peace deadline nears by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel's army says it identified a rocket launcher and fired in its direction since a truce went into effect five months ago.    Gaza militants previously pounded southern Israel with dozens of rockets to avenge raids.    Rice embarked on another peace-making trip, hoping to secure fragile Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and leave a viable process for the incoming Obama administration.    The target date for this is now highly unlikely.
• 11/15/2008 Hamas fighters attack major Israeli city by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Palestinian militants attacked Ashkelon, 11 miles north of Gaza, with rockets and also at Sderot, widening violence that has all but buried a five-month-old truce.
• 11/20/2008 Israel spurns plea to ease Gaza blockade by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel refused to stop cargo crossing at the Gaza Strip, brushing off pleas to ease the blockade fron the U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, as the Palestinians continue to fire rockets into Ashkelon.
• 11/25/2008 Crowds flock to banks in search of currency by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Desperate Gazans crowded into banks to withdraw money amid a worsening currency shortage caused by Israeli sanctions, refusing to allow cash to enter to apply pressure on the ruling Hamas.
• 12/5/2008 Israelis force out 250 settlers by AP.
      Hebron, West Bank - Israeli soldiers and police stormed a disputed building in Hebron, dragging out 250 settlers in a raid meant to send a warning to Jewish extremists.    The city of 170,000 Palestinians, with about 600 of the most extreme Jewish settlers living among them in enclaves, is the traditional burial site of Abraham, the shared patriarch of both Jews and Muslims, and has been a focal point of Israeli-Arab violence for decades.    The settlers claimed they bought the four-story building from a Palestinian in March 2007, who denied selling it, and Israel's Supreme Court ordered the house vacated.    The settlers rioted, setting fires near other houses and burning cars.
• 12/15/2008 Hamas rally marks founding, looks ahead by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas had a huge anniversary rally marking 21 years since its founding, and bragged about its violent exploits, promised more money to Gaza's impoverished people, and would soon stop recognizing the legitimacy of President Abbas.
• 12/17/2008 U.N.: Mideast peace process is irreversible by AP.
      United Nations - The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution stressing that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process initiated by the U.S. last year is irreversible and urging intensified efforts to achieve peace throughout the Middle East by 2009.
• 12/26/2008 Israel now closer to invasion of Gaza by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel moved closer to invading Gaza, saying it had wrapped up preparations for a broad offensive after Palestinian militants fired about 100 rockets and mortar shells across the border in two days.    Israel had made a direct appeal to Gaza's people to pressure their leaders to stop the barrages, but attacks showed no signs of ending.    Israel said it would not hesitate to respond with force if the attacks continued, and dismissed Egypt's presidents pleas for restraint.
• 12/28/2008 Israel's strike into Gaza may not topple Hamas by AP.
      Jeursalem - Gaza's deeply entrenched Hamas rulers won't be easy toppled, even by Israel's bombings that killed more than 200 people, most of them men in Hamas uniforms.    Israel's offensive is to deliver such a punishing blow to Hamas that the militants will halt rocket attacks.    Israel had no choice but to act, and they struck all the Hamas security compounds.
• 12/28/2008 Israel pounds Hamas-ruled Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israeli warplanes rained more than 100 tons of bombs on security sites in Gaza, killing at least 230 people to stop rocket attacks.    The Arab world condemned the invasion, Israels Western allies urged restraint, though the U.S. blamed Hamas for the fighting.    Hundreds of Israeli infantry and armored corps troops headed for the Gaza border in preparation for a ground invasion
• 12/29/2008 Israeli assault on Gaza widens by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel widened its air offense pounding smuggling tunnels and a central prison.    Crowds of Gazans breached the border wall with Egypt to escape the chaos.    Egyptian forces fired into the air trying to push them back.
• 12/30/2008 Mideast turmoil weighs on stocks - Oil climbs to $40 a barrel by AP.
      Wall Street retreated as violence in the Middle East and a resulting jump in oil prices.    The tensions pushed oil prices above $40 a barrel raising the possibility of supply disruptions.
• 12/30/2008 Gazans prepare for tank incursion as air strikes continue by AP.
      Jerusalem - Gazan residents braced for an Israeli tank incursion as warplanes pounded the bottled-up coastal enclave for the thrid straight day.
  
  The year 2009.
  
  
• 1/1/2009 Saudis criticize Palestinians - Turkey crafts deal for Gaza truce by Salah Nasrawi, AP.
      Cairo, Egypt - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Saud al-Faisal, blamed Palestinian divisions for Israel's onslaught on Gaza, a reflection of the U.S.-allied Arab governments' anger at the Hamas militant group.    Egypt is under heavy criticism from street protests, Iran, Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, for not doing enough to stop Israel or help Gazans.    Israel killed more than 370 Palestinians to prevent rocket fire into its territory and sparked outrage across the Middle East.
      The region has been divided in two camps: pro-U.S. states like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan on one side; Syria, Iran and their allied militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas on the other.    Egypt turned to Turkey - a regional rival of Iran with close ties to Israel - to put together an initiative to end the Gaza fighting.    The Arab League foreign ministers reviewed the plan, which called for an immediate, unconditional halt to the Israeli assault, followed by a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel, and international monitors to guarantee the truce.
• 1/2/2009 Missile kills Hamas figure by The Los Angeles Times.
      Jerusalem - An Israeli missile strike in the Gaza Strip killed a major Hamas political and military leader, along with most of his family, as the militant group continued to launch its own rockets deep into Israeli territory.    The death toll now 418 Palestinians and four Israelis, as they were poised for an invasion.
• 1/3/2009 Israel shows no signs of slowing attacks by AP.
      Israel opened the border crossing to allow 270 Palestinians who held foreign passports to flee the fighting.    In Washington, President George W. Bush branded Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel an "act of terror" and outlined his own condition for a cease-fire in Gaza, requiring monitoring to halt the flow of smuggling weapons to terrorist groups.    Thousands of people in countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and South America protested against Israel's air offensive.
• 1/4/2009 Israeli ground troops invade Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Thousands of Israeli troops backed by columns of tanks and helicopter gunships launched a ground offensive in Gaza last night, and expect a lengthy fight in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing air strikes failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel.    F-16 warplanes kept pounding Gaza with air strikes.    On the 5th troops surrounded Gaza's largest city and fought militants at close range.    On the 7th Israeli mortar shells struck outside a U.N. school where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge, killing at least 30, including children, a place where Israeli army said its soldiers came under fire from militants hiding in the school.    Hamas rulers use civilians as human shields which was confirmed by residents.    Egypt and France have proposed a plan to end the conflict, which has killed 600 Palestinians, half are civilians.
      Venezuela said that it was expelling the Israeli ambassador and personnel in response to the onslaught.
• 1/9/2009 Aid trucks fired on in Gaza by AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.N. suspended aid shipments in Gaza Strip and the Red Cross restricted its convoys after their trucks came under Israeli fire.    The threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel.    The United Nations, key Arab nations and Western powers reached agreement on a proposed U.N. resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional cease fire between the two.    The death toll now is 750 Palestinians and 8 Israeli.
      Comment: Some American sources are promoting the disintigration of Hamas rule in Gaza if a cease-fire does not come, but as has come many times before this just becomes a time for Hamas to rearm for future battles.    So the logic is let them not go to the endgame of ruling but overpowering every person in the domain, which is what sustains Hamas now.    The Hamas leadership are not great warriors urging others to martyrdom but cowards cowering underground unable to protect their own people when the Israel had only been in for four minutes.
• 1/10/2009 Israel, Hamas ignore U.N. call for cease-fire by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israeli jets and ground troops hammered at Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and Islamic militants fired barrages of rockets at southern Israeli cities, ignoring a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire after two weeks of combat.    Israel said the U.N. action was not practical, and Hamas was angry that it was not consulted during the diplomatic efforts at the world body.    The toll now 780 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.
• 1/12/2009 Israelis move deeper into Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israeli ground forces made their deepest foray yet into Gaza's most polulated area, with tanks rolling into residential neighborhoods and infantry fighting urban warfare in streets and buildings with Hamas militants who kept up their rocketing of southern Israel.    They had mannequinns dressed as militants in apartment entrances rigged to explode if soldiers approach, but Israel is going where the militants are hiding.    The toll now 870 Palestinians and 13 Israeli.    On the 13th Israeli warplanes pounded the homes of Hamas leaders as ground troops pushed into the urban areas.    Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would end the conflict if rocket fire on Israel stops and Hamas is unable to rearm, unconditional unless this threat ceases.    Reserves were sent in a strong signal that Israel is planning to increase the offensive with the death toll at 910 Palestinians.    Egypt could play a major roll in a cease-fire since an area of southern Gaza just across the Egyptian border known as the Philadelphi corridor that serves as a smuggling route, which they could stop.
      Comment: Hamas started this by launching unprovoked rocket barrages on Israel in violation of international law.    Since 2005 they have fired 6,300 rockets into Israeli towns with a goal of killing innocent civilians, so there recent whining about Israeli killing innocent Palestinians is a no go.    Israel has exercized its right of national self-defense which is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
      On the 14th, terrified residents ran for cover as Israeli troops and tanks thrust deeper into the city and sought Hamas fighters in alleyways and cellars, while Egyptian mediators pushed Hamas to accept a truce proposal.    Israeli troops now have the coastal city of 400,000 virtually surrounded as part of an offensive, with the toll at 940 Palestinians.
      On the 15th, in Cairo, Egypt and Hamas are close to a deal for a 10-day cease-fire between them to present to Israel.    This would be that Israeli forces would remain in place for a 10-day cease-fire until details on border security are worked out.    On the same day Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to launch a jihad against Israel over the Gaza offensive over the Internet.
• 1/16/2009 Israelis shell U.N. compound in Gaza by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Israel shelled the U.N.'s headquarters in the Gaza Strip, engulfing the compound and a warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian 700 refugees.    Apparently Hamas militants were dumb enough to open fire from that location, and Israeli's Prime Minister who met with U.N. Secretary- General, who was in the region, said it was a grave mistake.    Israeli troops still stepped up pressure, and included a kill on the militant group's number 5 top leader in Gaza.
• 1/18/2009 Israel begins unilateral cease-fire in Gaza strip by AP.
      Jerusalem - On day 22, Israel implemented a unilateral cease-fire after it dealt a stinging blow to the Islamic militants of Hamas, and will have troops stay for now.    So Israel had achieve its goals and more, hitting Hamas hard in its military arms and in its government.    More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and only 13 Israelis.
      Comment: So the football is in Hamas' hands, which play do they want to run?
• 1/19/2009 Israel begins troop pullout from Gaza - Hamas declares own cease-fire by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza strip - Israeli troops began to withdraw from Gaza after their government and Hamas militants declared an end to a three-week war, leaving the fragile calm to world leaders.    Palestinians spent time to pull dead bodies from buildings pulverized by bombs, while tensions eased in southern Israel from being targets of rockets.    Israel has no desire to conquer and control a land they got out of in the first place.
      Comment: Now the football is in the hands of world leaders.    Will they fumble?
• 1/20/2009 Hamas seeks to restore order in Gaza after battle by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Uniformed Hamas security teams emerged on Gaza City's streets as leaders of the Islamic militant group vowed to restore order in the shattered Palestinian territory after being pummeled by the Israeli military.    Hamas was bold enough to proclaim it won a great victory over the Jewish state, in an attempt to capitalize on anger toward Israel for the 1,259 Palestinian deaths, claiming half of them were civilians.    Israelis hope Gaza's civilians will blame their militant rulers for provoking the Israeli assault with their rocket attacks.    By the 22nd the last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip, but remained ready at the border if militants violated the truce.    President Obama named George Mitchell as special envoy to the Mideast, and many nations will send theirs to Brussels to discuss a solution to a peace agreement, as the U.N. began raising funds for Gaza restoration.    At the same time Hamas are rallying as their militant group emerge like rats from a tunnel and claim victory for the resistance and yes to martyrdom for the sake of God, but nothing about the 1,300 people who died for their cowardness to fight head on with their so-called enemy.
• 2/2/2009 Israel says Hamas faces retaliation - Rockets, mortars injure three by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli's prime minister threatened retaliation after Gaza militants fired at least 10 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel.    Israel hit back, bombing the Egypt-Gaza border area where Hamas smuggles in weapons through tunnels.    Hamas blamed the new attacks by smaller militant groups, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks coming from there.
• 2/6/2009 Israel seizes ship carrying aid by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying humanitarian supplies from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip and towed the vessel into port, foiling a new attempt by international activists to break Israel's blockade of the Paletinian territory.    Lebanon and Syria condemned the interception, talks in Egypt was a no go with the Hamas delegation leaving Cairo without agreeing to a truce deal, and Egyptian security officers frisked the delegation returning to Gaza and confiscated $9.5 million to $11.5 million in dollars and euros, from cash that was deposited in an account in Egypt.
• 2/7/2009 U.N. halts aid to Gaza, accuses Hamas of stealing supplies by AP.
      Jerusalem - the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees suspended aid to the Gaza strip, accusing the territory's Hamas rulers of stealing humanitarian supplies.    They said the Hamas-run ministry of Social Affairs stole 10 truckloads of flour and rice delivered to Gaza, and Hamas police took thousands of blankets and food parcels.
      Comment: They are stealing from the 1,300 dead people and thousands who were displaced and rebuilding, probably so they can cower in their tunnels during the next attack.
• 2/8/2009 Israel turning right as national election looms by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel seems to be moving rightward into Tuesday's national election, with polls giving the edge to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a tough stance on Mideast peacemaking leading to a collision with the new U.S. administration.    With the war in Gaza, looming recession and the belief that giving up land just draws more attacks has boosted Netanyahu and other hard-line candidates for the 120-member parliament elections.    Israelis now look at themselves as a besieged nation surrounded by enemies, which is promoting a popular war, and has already evacuated territory to be nice to the Arabs to create a Palestinian state, which just got them more rocket attacks, and Hamas took over Gaza.
• 2/11/2009 Exit polls in Israel forecast Livni win by AP.
      Jerusalem - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party was forecast to eke out a surprising victory in Israel's election, but exit polls showed strong support for hard-line rivals making it difficult for her to form a coalition government.    Livni wants to give up considerable territory in exchange for peace with the Palestinians and has more U.S. support in the new administration.    Netanyahu, opposes large-scale territorial consessions in peace talks.
• 2/21/2009 Netanyahu to form Israeli government by AP.
      Jerusalem - Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister-designate, appealed to his moderate rivals to join a unity government - a tricky alliance that would let the hawkish Israeli leader avoid relying on an unstable grouping of right-wingers almost sure to collide with the Obama administration and each other.    President Shimon Peres tapped him to try to put together Israel's next governing coalition.    He wants the moderate Tzipi Livni of the Kadima Party to ally with him, along with Defense Minister Erud Barack, chairman of the Labor Party to help with negotiating in peace talks.    On the 24th it was announced that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make a trip to Israel and Palestinian President Abbas soon.
• 2/28/2009 Netanyahu, Livni fail to form coalition government by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel edged closer to a government of hawks and right-wing religious parties after Netanyahu failed to persuade moderate rivals to join a coalition to avoid a showdown with the Obama administration.    The refusal was over not endorsing the vision of dividing the land into separate Jewish and Palestinian states.    Netanyahu still has five weeks to form a government.
• 3/2/2009 U.S. giving Palestinians $900 million by AP.
      Sharm El-Shik, Egypt - Hillary Clinton will pledge about $300 million in U.S. humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip, plus about $600 million in assistance to the Palestinian Authority to determine how to help in Gaza.    On the 4th Clinton in Jerusalem promised to work with the incoming Israeli government but would be at odds with the next leader if there is not a movement toward establishment of a Palestinian state.    Her meeting with Netanyahu went well.    The U.S. also sent two emissaries to Syria aimed at warming relations with an Arab adversary accused of supporting terrorism, seeking weapons of mass destruction, facilitating the insurgency in Iraq and balking at peace with Israel.
• 3/5/2009 Iran warns Israel it can hit nuclear facilities by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran's military chief warned Israel its nuclear facilities are in missile range, the latest signal from Iran that it'll strike back if attacked.    Israel has said it may attack Iran if it doesn't end its nuclear program.
• 3/8/2009 Palestinian prime minister resigns, paves way for unity by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The Western-backed Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, submitted his resignation improving the possibility of a unity government of Fatah moderates and Hamas militants, followed by new Palestinian elections.    New talks between the Islamic militant Hamas and the Fatah movement of moderate Palestinian President Abbas are to resume this week in Cairo.
• 3/15/2009 Bin Laden labels Israeli Gaza action 'holocaust' by AP.
      Cairo - Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip a "holocaust" and lashed out at Arab governments that he said failed to stop the bloodshed, accused them of sacrificing the Palestinians in Gaza and collaborating with Israel in an audio recording broadcast.    He said we must disown ourselves from all those governments.
• 3/30/2009 Israel: Tons of weapons smuggled into Gaza Strip by AP.
      Jerusalem - Palestinian militants have smuggled nearly 70 tons of explosives and bomb-making materials and other weapons into Gaza since Israel ended an offensive menat to choke off the arms flow.    Did Israel's war end to soon?
• 4/1/2009 Netanyahu takes office, vows pursuit of full peace by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's incoming PM Benjamin Netanyahu took office promising to seek a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians and full peace with the entire Arab and Muslim world.    He did not endorse an independent Palestinian state, a key goal of the U.S. and international community, but has softened his rhetoric of ending peace efforts and expanding Jewish settlements.    He said Iran backs militants and is a major threat to regional security and urged the world to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.    He called on the Palestinians to fight terror and he would pursue a final peace deal with them.    At home the global economic crisis has begun hitting Israel's banks and companies harder.
      On the 6th, Netanyahu said his government will immediately get to work on Mideast peace issues, vowing to present a diplomatic agenda in the coming weeks.    On the 7th Netanyahu's administration avoided any references to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks or President Obama's goal of a Palestinian state, agreed to under the U.S.-backed "road map."
• 4/9/2009 Jews celebrate rising of sun, which occurs every 28 years by the Courier-Journal.
      Before celebrating the miracles of Passover last night, some local Jews celebrated the rising of the sun, to mark a date that, according to Talmudic tradition, occurs only once every 28 years, the return of the sun to its exact position on the day of creation.    Its kind of like a Jewish Earth Day, to thank God for all of nature, another manifestation of God.    The date of the holy day, known as Birchat HaChama, is based on the biblical account of the creation, which according to ancient Talmudic traditions took place at the start of spring.    Before more precise astronomical calculations, a year was considered to be 365 and a quarter days long.    The tradition held that it would take 28 years for the sun to revert to the same position - four quarters of a day multiplied by seven days of the week (28).    I think we call this leap year.
• 4/12/2009 Palestinian states peace-talk conditions by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel must declare its support for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state is peace talks are to resume, the chief Palestinian negotiator said.    Saeb Erekat said Israel "must accept a two-state solution, agreements signed and halt settlement activity."
• 4/17/2009 U.S., Israel at odds on Palestinian talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Stark differences between U.S. and Israel policy toward peace talks with the Palestinians emerged clearly in the first meeting between Obama's envoy and top leaders of the new Israeli government.
• 4/22/2009 Environmental woes worsening in Gaza by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Environmental hazards in Gaza, such as raw sewage leaks, have been getting worse since Israel's war on Hamas there as es even basic repairs are stalled by the blockade of the territory.    The U.N. Environment Program will dispatch experts to Gaza to examine destruction of water and sewage lines, disposal of hospital waste and possible abestos contamination of the rubble of destroyed and damaged buildings.
• 5/12/2009 Pope visits Holocaust memorial by AP.
      Jerusalem - Pope Benedict XVI confronted the dark history of his native Germany on the first day of his visit to Israel, shaking hands of six Holocaust survivors and saying victims of the genocide "lost their lives but they will never lose their names."    His attempt to ease tensions with Jews after lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop appeared to enjoy only partial success.    Two officials at Israel's Holocaust memorial faulted him for not apologizing nor using the words "murder" or "Nazis" during a speech at the site.    He did lay a wreath and rekindled the eternal flame at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.    Soothing tensions was at the top of his agenda, but his comment at the airport calling for an independent Palestinian homeland alongside Israel put him at odds with Israel's new hardline government.
      On the 14th, while he was in Bethlehem, the pope told Palestinians he understood their suffering and offered his backing yet for an independent Palestinian state.    He then went to Jesus' traditional birthplace in Bethlehem, then to a nearby refugee camp he expressed regret over Israel's construction of the barrier, and prayed for Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.    He urged Palestinians to resist any temptation to resort to acts of violence or terrorism, and spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
• 5/15/2009 Pope urged to speak for Israel by AP.
      Nazareth, Israel - Israeli PM Netanyahu appealed to the Pope "to make his voice heard" and use his moral authority to condemn the harsh anti-Israel rhetoric voiced by Iran's hard-line president, after both met for 15 minutes about the Middle East.    The pope told Netanyahu "that he condemns all instances of anti-Semitism and hate against the state of Israel - against humanity as a whole - but in this case against Israel."
• 5/16/2009 Pope's message in Israel: Peace is possible by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Pope ended his pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a call for peace at the site of Jesus' cruxifixion at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and then appealed to Israel and the Palestinians: "No more bloodshed.    No more fighting.    No more war"    The pope said the Jewish state has a right to exist in peace with internationally recognised borders and the Palestinians have a right to a country of their own.
• 5/17/2009 Israel might be ready to back Palestinian state by AP.
      Jerusalem - On the eve of PM Netanyahu's visit to Washington, his defense minister suggested the Israeli leader might endorse a Palestinian state within 3 years when he meets with President Obama.    He does not think the Palestinians are ready to rule themselves, which has put him at odds with the U.S. in the past.    Obama's has promised to make a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including a two-state solution.    There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in Syria in recent weeks by the U.S. even Netanyahu had visited there.    Syria is demanding Israel cede all the Golan Heights, which Netanyahu has said Israel would not leave the Golan.    Netanyahu said trading land for peace has failed and is focuing on build up the Palestinian economy and security services.    He favors giving Palestinians the powers to govern tehmselves but minus the powers that could threaten Israel.
• 5/19/2009 Israel ready to start peace talks by AP.
      Washington - Israeli PM Netanyahu said he is ready to resume peace talks with the Palestinians immediately, but any agreement is contingent on their acceptance of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, after meeting with President Obama at the White House.    Obama said the U.S. wanted to bring Iran into the world community but declared, "We're not going to have talks forever."    Whether Netanyahu was demanding a precondition for talks is not clear, but he also said there has never been a time when Arabs and Israelis see a common threat the way we see it today.    Obama declared the U.S. was ready to seek deeper international sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran if it shunned U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program.    At present Iran is isolating themselves.
• 5/20/2009 Abbas government excludes Hamas by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinian President Abbas swore in a new government that mainly comprised members of his Fatah Party and without representation of his bitter rivals from the militant Islamic Hamas group in uniting the West Bank and Gaza.
• 5/20/2009 U.S. presses Netanyahu on peace talks by AP.
      Washington - U.S. officials and lawmakers pressed Israeli PM Netanyahu to make peace with the Palestinians and halt construction of Jewish settlements.    Netanyahu has refused to agree to negotiate the creation of a Palestinian state and has announce plans to build within existing settlements.    The Palestinians will not negotiate unless Israel commits to a two-state solution and agreed to freeze settlements.
• 6/6/2009 No change seen on Israeli outposts by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel will not heed Obama's appeal to halt all settlement activity on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state, which will surely cause a clash with the U.S.    Obama said the U.S. does not recognize the legitimacy of the settlements and called on Israel to halt construction there.    Obama also appealed to the Palestinians to renounce violence.    Israel has planned to take down 22 unauthorized outposts in the West Bank in the coming weeks, but is not what the U.S. means by stop all settlement activity.
• 6/15/2009 Netanyahu endorses Palestinian independence by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli PM Netanyahu endorsed the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state beside Israel for the first time, reversing himself in the face of U.S. pressure but attaching conditions the Palestinians swiftly rejected.    Israel wants the Palestinian state to be unarmed and recognize Israel as the Jewish state, and the holy city of Jerusalem must remain under Israeli sovereignty.    The Palestinians looked at this as an attempt to determine the outcome of the negotiations while maintaining Israeli settlements, refusing to comprimise over Jerusalem and ignoring the issues of borders, and have control over Palestinians.    Obama welcomed the speech as a dramatic transformation to help start the negotiations without preconditions and involve the Arab world to work with him, to make peace.    The Palestinians demand all of the West Bank as part of their future state, with east Jerusalem as their capital.    Israel will not cede these lands for security and ideological reasons.
• 7/11/2009 Israel won't leave Golan Heights to secure Syria peace, adviser says by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel will not witdraw from the entire Golan Heights in return for a peace deal with Syria, PM Netanyahu's top policy adviser said, rejecting Syria's key demand for an agreement.    The two countries could split the territory, so Israel can remain to a depth of several miles and cannot withdraw in full, even in return for a peace agreement.    Syria has stated that peace will be possible only if Israel withdraws entirely from the heights.    Syrian forces used the plateau to shell Israeli communities before 1967, and Israel fears this will occur again.
• 7/17/2009 Hamas, U.S. disagree on meeting by The Washington Post.
      Jerusalem - Hamas officials in a recent meeting with a U.S. diplomat represented an opening in relations with the Obama administration and a path to easing the Islamist group's isolation to investigate the positions of both parties without any commitments.    Hamas is still a terrorist organization which the U.S. will not sanction a meeting with, so this was done under the table.
• 7/28/2009 Israel talking tough on Iran by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel hardened its stance that it would do anything it felt necessary to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb -- just the ultimatum the U.S. hoped not to hear as it tried to nudge Iran to the bargaining table.    Israel even would consider a pre-emptive strike to thwart Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, since they feel the world body is not doing enough to slow their activity, which gives the U.S. fears this would upset the Mideast security balance.
• 8/15/2009 Hezbollah leader threatens Israel by AP.
      Beirut - The leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah warned Israel his fighters would hit Tel Aviv with rockets if Israeli forces attack Beirut or the guerrillas' stronghold in its southern suburbs.
• 8/16/2009 Hamas crushes challenge by group by AP.
      Rafah, Gaza Strip - Hamas crushed an al-Qaida-inspired group in an hours-long standoff that came to a fiery end when a large explosion killed the radical Muslim group's leader inside his Gaza home.    This death put an end to the greatest internal challenge to Hamas' rule since it took control of Gaza two years ago.    24 people died in the fighting because of a rebellious sermon declaring Gaza as an Islamic emirate, then Hamas forces surrounded the mosque and the fighting started.
• 8/19/2009 Israel stops new West Bank housing by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel has quietly moved to halt new housing projects in the West Bank, while rebuffing U.S. pressure to stop construction in its settlements.    Obama views this as a compromise, since Israel claims there has never been an agreement on freezing new construction in the West Bank, where about 300,000 Israelis live among about 2.5 million Palestinians.    Another 180,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem neighborhoods built since Israel captured the Arab section in the 1967 war.    Their numbers are rising about 5 percent a year, and the government insists it must build housing to acommodate the increase.    Critics claim that the new cheap housing attracts more Israelis to the settlements.
• 8/19/2009 Mubarack praises peace efforts by AP.
      Washington - President Obama won lavish praise from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarack for his peace efforts and his speech to the Muslim world, making his first visit to the U.S. captial in five years, to help construct a deal that has eluded world leaders for more than six decades.
• 9/5/2009 Chavez tells Israelis to disobey government by AP.
      Damascus, Syria - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the Israeli people not to support their government, while on an 11-day trip to Libya, Algeria, Syria, Iran, Belarus, Russia and Spain in what he's described as a bid to build a multi-polar world and decrease U.S. influence in the region.
• 9/5/2009 U.S. slams expanded settlements by The Washington Post.
      Washington - The White House issued a rebuke of Israel announcement that it wouild expand settlements in Palestinian areas, for what they said could not be stopped for 2,500 housing units in 700 buildings, because it was done before any new deals had been reached.    On the 7th, Israeli cabinet ministers favors West Bank construction shrugging off the rebuke from top ally Washington.    Israel only offered a willingness to consider a building slowdown as a concession toward peacemaking not a complete freeze.    On the 8th, Israel officially approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in the West Bank as a prelude to a freeze, with plans tp complete 2,500 more homes already underway.    On the 10th Israeli PM Netanyahu gave the green light for the new homes in a Palestinian-claimed area of Jerusalem, part of a gamble to mollify his restive coalition without sparking a confrontation with the U.S.
• 9/15/2009 Netanyahu says Israel won't halt construction by AP.
      Jerusalem - PM Netanyahu rejected U.S. calls to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, angering Palestinians and putting a New York summit in question on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session next week.
• 9/16/2009 Report: War crimes committed in Mideast by AP.
      United Nations - A U.N. investigation concluded that both sides in the Dec. 27-Jan. 18 Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza committed war crimes.    Israel's attacks in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, including the shelling of a house where soldiers forced Palestinian civilians to assemble, amounted to war crimes.    On the Palestinian side, the report found that armed groups firing rockets into southern Israel from Gaza failed to distinguish between military targets and the civilian population.
      I guess they are tied.    Which side has the arrow?
• 9/19/2009 U.S. envoy fails to bridge gaps on Mideast peace talks by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The U.S. top Mideast envoy failed to bridge gaps between Israelis and Palestinians to revive peace talks.    The deadlock could scuttle hopes for a meeting between them with Obama next week in New York.    The Palestinians keep losing out on this deal, they have lost Gaza to militants after Israel gave it back to them, all peace deals were made in 2003 have not been abided to because of their actions toward Israel, and now they are years behind.    Plus they want the negotiations to resume on the terms as previous rounds before Netanyahu, which discussed core issues, including a partition of Jerusalem, which is off-limits now.
• 9/20/2009 Israel pushes missile defense by The Washington Post.
      Ashkelon, Israel - As it pushes for international action against Iran's nuclear program, Israel is steadily assembling one of the world's most advanced missile defense systems, a multi-layered collection of weapons meant to guard against several threats, including short-range Grads used to strike Israeli towns and intercontinental rockets.
      The effort financed by the U.S. and incorporating advanced U.S. radar and other technology, has been progressing for two decades.    It could start changing strategic decisions in the region, centered on the deployed Arrow 2 anti-missile system, and soon a longer-range Arrow 3, designed to hit lower-and slower-flying cruise missiles, and the Iron Dome system intended to destroy Grads, Katyushas, Qassams and other shorter-range projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon.    This should be in place by next year and would give Israel the knowledge that an attack will fail, even from Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah tactics would be undermined.    Obama moved the Bush-era defense sytem in Czech Republic and Poland to Israel to better match its assessment of Iran's capabilities in the next five years.
• 9/21/2009 Russia: Israel won't attack Iran by AP.
      Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Israeli officials have assured him they are not planning a military strike on Iran after a secret meeting with Netanyahu this month, with speculation to ask Moscow not deliver S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran.    Which side would Russia be on if Iran was attacked?
• 9/21/2009 Obama faces difficult task in renewing Mideast talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Obama will try to get Mideast peacemaking back on track this week in a meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York, just to lay groundwork for negotiations but would not constitute a relaunch of talks.    Of course Hamas is mad since he shunned them.    On the 23rd, Obama met with them, where both remained far apart on key issues, so back at square one.
• 9/25/2009 Netanyahu decries Iran's claims by AP.
      United Nations - Israeli PM Netanyahu waved designs of the most infamous Nazi death camp from a U.N. podium, exhorting the world to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, just days after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again denied the Holocaust.    Netanyahu at his speech before the U.N. General Assembly held up a copy of minutes from a notorious meeting at Wannsee Lake where top Nazis formalized plans for the systematic extermination of Europe's Jewish population.    "Is this protocol a lie?"    Then he brandished original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp -- a representation in chilling detail of gas chambers, crematoria and other facilities where 3 million Jews died.
• 9/26/2009 Obama urged to offer Mideast talks outline by AP.
      United Nations - The head of the Arab League and the Egyptian foreign minister urged Obama to present his own outline of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, in order to break the current logjam and spur negotiations.    They want to hear what Obama thinks would be a fair deal.    Ha! Ha! Ha!
• 9/30/2009 Nuclear facility safe from attack by air, Iran says by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - Iran's nuclear chief said his country built its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain next to a military site of the Revolutionary Guard to ensure it was safe against attack a disclosure to defuse international pressure.
• 10/26/2009 Violence erupts at shrine in Jerusalem by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli police fired stun grenades against masked Palestinian protesters hurling stones and plastic chairs outside the Holy Land's most volatile shrine.    The protesters ran for cover into the Al-Aqsa mosque (Muslim Noble Sanctuary, Jewish Temple Mount), where Jews pray at the foot of the compound at the western Wall.    Eighteen protesters were arrested, no injuries.    Israel has controlled the site since the end of the Six-Day War in 1967 but has left day-to-day administration in the hands of a Muslim clerical body, the Waqf.
• 11/3/2009 Clinton stiffens settlement remarks by AP.
      Marrakech, Morocco - In the face of Arab criticism of the administration's recalibrated Mideast peace talk, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton moderated her praise for Israel's offer to restrain buliding settlements in Palestinian areas, eventhough it falls short of stopping the settlements by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's government.    Hillary may have learned there is no win-win with the Arabs, unless it is there way it is no way.
• 11/16/2009 Palestinians may take statehood case to U.N. by AP.
      Jerusalem - A Palestinian drive to ask the U.N. Security Council to endorse a state unilaterally, put forward by a top negotiator, appeared more an expression of frustration with U.S. and Israeli policies and stalled peace talks than a real effort to go it alone.    A resolution for a Palestinian state could face a veto from the U.S., Israel's main ally, but if approved, consequences could be even more severe.    Israeli PM Netanyahu rejected the move, warning Israel would retaliate.    Netanyahu said there is no substitute for negotiations, any unilateral action would only unravel the framework of agreements between us and can only lead to one-sided steps on the part of Israel.
• 11/22/2009 Hamas: Gaza militants agree to halt rocket fire by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas announced that it has reached an agreement with other militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns to prevent retaliatory attacks.    Hamas had stopped in January since the Israeli offensive, but other militant groups afflilated with al-Qaida have since continued on a smaller scale.
• 11/24/2009 Israel, Hamas discuss swap of hundreds in jail for soldier by AP.
      Jerusalem - Hamas leaders raced to Egypt amid signs of progress on a deal to swap hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for a captive Israeli soldier held by the Islamic militant group for more than three years.    The exchange could boost Hamas at the expense of Western-backed President Abbas, since one of the prisoners is Marwan Barghouti, his main challenger within the Fatah group.    Netanyahu sees this as doing something to promote peace to the international community.
• 12/2/2009 Israel criticizes EU draft on Palestinian capital by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel criticized a proposed statement by the European Union recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state -- part of the country's growing resistance to efforts to pressure it into reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians.
• 12/3/2009 Israel revokes more Jerusalem residencies by The Washington Post.
      Jerusalem - Israel last year revoked the Jerusalem residency of more than 4,500 Palestinians.    There are about 260,000 Arabs in Jerusalem or 35 percent of the city's population, and the Palestinians are claiming the revoking of residency is an effort to diminish their presence.
• 12/10/2009 Settlers in Jerusalem protest building ban by AP.
      Jerusalem - About 10,000 West Bank settlers and their backers filled part of downtown Jerusalem pledged to defy a building ban imposed by PM Netanyahu to encourage resumptrion of peace talks with the Palestinians.    They held up signs and banners that read stop Iran's nukes, not our homes.
• 12/13/2009 Showdown building over West Bank construction by AP.
      Elon Moreh, West Bank - Calls are mounting for Israeli soldiers to cross a sacred line and defy orders to enforce a slowdown of Israeli building on lands Palestinians claim, which could result in jailed defiant soldiers.    PM Netanyahu has a dilemma in trying to mollify the Obama administration and draw the Palestinians back to peace talks by curtailing settlement-building in the West Bank for 10 months, but all the Palestinians are concerned with is the half-million Jewish settlers already there, and elsewhere eating away at the dream of an independent state.
• 12/15/2009 Hamas stages huge anniversary rally to demonstrate its strength by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas mobilized tens of thousands of supporters for an anniversary rally meant to show the Islamic militant group has not lost support despite Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza a year ago.
  
  The year 2010.
  
  
• 1/25/2010 Israeli premier vows to keep parts of West Bank forever by Mark Lavie, AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's leader declared his country's permanent claim to parts of the West Bank, angering Palestinians again and complicating efforts by President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy - though the same claim has been made by previous more moderate premiers.    Timing and context lent weight to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to two Jewish settlements and his declaration that they would remain in Israel forever.    He planted a tree at one of them - Maaleh Adumim, home to about 30,000 Israelis about 2 miles from Jerusalem - a symbolic act of ownership.    "Our message is clear: We are planting here, we will stay here, we will build here.    This place will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel for eternity," Netanyahu proclaimed, just as George Mitchell was trying to restart peace talks after a yearlong stalemate.
      Netanyahu was referring to what Israel calls its "main settlement blocs," most of them close to Israeli population centers.    Israel has long said it would keep the blocs, where about 80 percent of its 300,000 settlers live, and trade Israeli land to the Palestinians in exchange.
      In failed negotiations with former premiers, Palestinians have indicated they might accept such a trade, but Netanyahu has traditionally opposed ceding control of any of the West Bank and has backed settlement expansion, and grudging accepted the idea of a Palestinian state last June.
  
• 2/12/2010 Israel to move part of West Bank barrier by AP.
      Jerusalem - The Israeli military has begun rerouting a hotly disputed section of its West Bank security barrier, marking a victory for Palestinians who fought for five years to win back access to their land, officials said.    The move comes 2 1/2 years after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the fence improperly cut through the Palestinian village of Bilin in order to enlarge an Israeli settlement.    Under the new route about 170 acres if vineyards, olive and almond trees will be accessible again to Palestinian owners.    But villagers say the barrier and nearby settlements still occupy about 400 acres of land they once held.
  
• 2/22/2010 Israel adds 2 West Bank sites to heritage list by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel is adding two key West Bank holy shrines to its list of national heritage sites, Netanyahu said, staking claims that angered Palestinians, who want Israel out of the West Bank.    One of the sites include Hebron that has been a flash point for decades.    Jews call it the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the Bible says the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were buried.    Muslims call it the al-Ibrahimi mosque, reflecting the fact that Abraham is considered the father of both Judaism and Islam.    The other new heritage site is the traditional tomb of the biblical Rachel on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
  
• 3/7/2010 West Bank settlement seen as peace spoiler by Karin Laub, AP.
      Ariel, West Bank - Ariel has ambitions of becoming a city and already boasts 19,000 people, a college, a $10 million sports complex and a four-lane highway leading to it.    But Ariel is a West Bank settlement, and its geography casts a heavy shadow over Palestinian hopes of getting a viable state of their own.
      But if Ariel stays, it would gouge a hole in any future Palestinian state, or could prevent its creation entirely.    As the U.S. pushes to renew peace talks, Israel's plans here - encouraged by evangelical Christians in the U.S. - are deepening the Palestinians' distrust.    Ariel is 12 miles into the territory, and it isn't alone, its satellite settlements house 30,000 people - 10 percent of the Jewish population of the West Bank.    As Ariel grows, so does the dilemma.
  
• 3/9/2010 Israel, Palestinians agree to indirect peace talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel and the Palestinians agreed to begin indirect, American-brokered talks, the U.S. Mideast envoy announced - ending a 14-month deadlock in peacemanking and representating the Obama administration's first substantive diplomatic achievement in the region.
  
• 3/10/2010 Biden criticizes Israeli proposal - East Jerusalem homes planned by Aron Heller, AP.
      Jerusalem - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden condemned a new Israeli plan to build hundreds of homes in disputed east Jerusalem, casting a cloud over a visit aimed at repairing ties with the Jewish state and kickstarting Mideast peace talks.    Israel's Interior Ministry said that it had approved construction for 1,600 apartments in Ramat Shlomo, an embarassing setback for Biden after a day of warm meetings with Israeli officials.
  
• 3/11/2010 Arab League may end support of peace talks by AP.
      Cairo - The Arab League recommended to withdraw its support for indirect talks between Palestinians and Israelis because of the recent announcement of new settlement building in east Jerusalem.    A final decision will have to be made by the foreign ministers of the Arab nations.
  
• 3/12/2010 Biden steers past spat over Israel settlement plan by AP.
      Jerusalem - Vice President Joe Biden tried to soothe tensions with Israel extolling the countries' close relationship, signaling that the U.S. wants to move beyond a diplomatic spat over settlements.    The Palestinians have threatened to pull out of peace talks.
  
• 3/16/2010 U.S. wants Israel to cancel new homes in east Jerusalem by Mark Lavie, AP.
      Jerusalem - The Obama administration is demanding that Israel call off a contentious building project in east Jerusalem and make a public gesture toward the Palestinians to help defuse one of the worst U.S.-Israeli feuds in memory, officials on both sides said.
      But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed little sign of yielding, saying the Jewish construction in east Jerusalem "in no way" hurts Palestinians.
      On top of this the U.S. wants Israel to include discussions of releasing Palestinian prisoners or turning over additional West Bank land to Palestinian control.    Then also demanded that Israel declare that talks with the Palestinians will deal with all the conflict's big issues, including final borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees who lost their homes during the war that followed Israel's 1948 creation.    Netanyahu appeared unreceptive to the main demand, defending four decades of construction for Israelis in east Jerusalem.
  
• 3/17/2010 Palestinians erupt in Jerusalem - U.S. envoy cancels trip by Amy Teibel, AP.
      Jerusalem - Hundreds of Palestinians in east Jerusalem set tires and garbage bins ablaze and hurled rocks at Israeli riot police, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.    The heaviest clashes in months broke out as an American envoy abruptly canceled a visit, deepening a U.S.-Israeli diplomatic feud.    Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces throughout the day and about 60 protesters were arrested.
      {comment: Good job Democrats!]
  
• 3/18/2010 Israel eases restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank by Amy Teibel, AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel lifted its tight restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem's holiest shrine and called off an extended West Bank closure after days of clashes, but kept police officers on alert.
  
• 3/21/2010 U.N. chief: Israeli settlements must stop by Mohammed Daraghmeh, AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Visiting U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said that Israeli settlement building anywhere on occupied land is illegal and must be stopped, as he viewed from a hiiltop observation point the Israeli enclaves scattered in Palestinian-claimed areas.    Other Mideast mediators - known as the Quartet - met in Moscow to try to find a way to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
      The U.N. chief is mostly concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in blockaded Hamas-ruled Gaza.
  
• 3/22/2010 Netanyahu says building in Jerusalem will not be restricted by Mark Lavie, AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel will not restrict construction in east Jerusalem, Netanyahu said as he was leaving for Washington for a meeting with President Barack Obama.
  
• 3/23/2010 Clinton: Israel hurts U.S. credibility by AP.
      Washington - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Israel of undermining U.S. credibility as a Mideast peacemaker, on the eve of critical talks between Obama and Netanyahu.    Netanyahu was expected to take a firm stand regarding Jerusalem as the city of Israel's capital, "not a settlement."
  
• 3/24/2010 Congress embraces Netanyahu - Obama more cool with Israeli premier by AP.
      Washington - Netanyahu recieved a warmer public reception from Congress than the Obama administration.    Obama met with him later in the day but in hush hush discussions and no pictures.
  
• 3/25/2010 Arab leaders renew support for peace talks by AP.
      Sirte, Libya - Arab leaders renewed their support for Mideast peace efforts, rejecting pressure from Syria and Libya on the Palestinians to abandon talks with Israel and resume armed resistance.    The Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to reporters after the summit "The Arab peace initiative is a serious move.    If we withdraw it, what will be the Arab stance after that?"    They decided to not follow those who have special agendas, and let them go to war and mobilize their armies and their people.    Of course they blame Netanyahu for not returning to the negotiation table.
  
• 4/3/2010 Hamas trying to limit attacks on Israel by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza strip - Gaza's Hamas rulers indicated they were trying to keep attacks on Israel in check, in an apparent attempt to keep a recent spate of violence from spiraling into open conflict.    Hamas made this known just hours after Israeli aircraft pounded multiple targets in the territory in response to the latest rocket attack on southern Israel.
  
• 4/10/2010 Israel bows out of nuclear arms conference by AP.
      Jerusalem - Netanyahu's decision to abruptly cancel a trip to a nuclear conference in Washington spotlighted a key sore point in international nonproliferation efforts: Israel's own atomic weapons.    The Jewish state wants to help lead the charge against allowing nuclear weapons to end up in undesirable hands, even when nobody doubts that Israel itself possesses them.    Israeli official said that Netanyahu called off the trip after his government received word that participant at the conference would "push an Israel-bashing agenda."
  
• 4/15/2010 Hezbollah Scuds can hit Israel, official say by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli defense officials said they believe Hezbollah has Scud missiles that could hit all of Israel, a day after Israel's president accused Syria of supplying the Lebanese guerrillas with the weapons for the first time.
      Israeli officials say the introduction of Scuds could alter the strategic balance with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that battled Israel to a stalemate during the monthlong war in 2006.    So Syria is playing talking about peace while delivering Scuds to Hezbollah to threaten Israel.
  
• 4/16/2010 U.S. increases pressure on Israel, Palestinians by AP.
      Washington - The Obama administration is turning up pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to restart stalled peace negotiations.    Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on both parties to prove they are committed to resolving the conflict.
  
• 4/19/2010 Nuclear summit urges Israel to join treaty by AP.
      Tehran, Iran - An Iranian-hosted international disarmament conference ended with a demand that Israel join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to assure a nuclear weapons-free Middle East.    The two-day gathering closely followed a 47-nation nuclear security summit, held by President Obama in Washington, which excluded Iran and North Korea.    Washington and its allies suspect Iran's nuclear program is geared toward producing weapons, which Tehran denies.
• 4/22/2010 Israel reopens highly popular Old City gate by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel reopened a 16th century gate to Jerusalem's Old City completing a two-month renovation and cleaning project that drew criticism form Palestiniann officials.    Jaffa Gate, one of four main entrances to the Old City, was built by Jerusalem's Ottoman rulers and inaugurated in 1538.
  
• 4/23/2010 Israel again rejects U.S. call to halt building by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's prime minister rejected U.S. calls to halt construction in disputed east Jerusalem, clouding a new peace mission by Washington's Mideast envoy.    Netanyahu said there will be no freeze in Jerusalem and there should be no preconditions to talks.
  
• 4/25/2010 Abbas ask Obama to act - Mideast peace deal is sought by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on President Barack Obma to impose a Mideast peace deal, reflecting growing frustration with what Palestinians see as Washington's failure to get concessions from Israel's hard-line government.    Abbas said if Obama believes Palestinian statehood is a vital U.S. interest, then the American leader must take forceful steps to bring it about.    The envoy has tried for a year.
      [Comment: Abbas if you want something done by Obama ask him to give you a government controlled health plan and he will get right on it.]
  
• 4/27/2010 Officials: Israel has frozen east Jerusalem construction by Amy Teibel, AP.
      Jerusalem - The Israeli government has effectively frozen new Jewish construction in Jerusalem's disputed eastern sector.    The decision was made despite Netanyahu's public insistence that building would not be stopped in the face of U.S. pressure.
  
• 4/29/2010 Hamas: Egypt kills 4 smugglers in tunnel by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Egytian forces pumped gas into a tunnel used to smuggle goods into Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians bu suffocation and injuring six, Hamas officials said.    Egypt has been under pressure to seal off the hundreds of tunnels that are an economic lifeline for the blockaded Palestinian territory, used to bring in weapons for Islamic militants.
  
• 5/3/2010 Gaza blockade leaves Hamas short on cash by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Hamas confirmed it is unable to pay thousands of government workers in full for a second month - a new sign the Islamic militants are caught in what may be the most serious cash crunch in three years of ruling Gaza.    Hamas insist its money woes are temporary.    However, it has resorted to an unpopular tax drive to raise money, suggesting that a heavy blockade on the territory, an Egyptian crackdown on smuggling and an increasing expensive government bureaucracy are taking their toll.    The hunt for revenue has propmpted a rare public backlash, hinting at a small crack in Hamas' hold on power.    A 40 percent tax on cigarettes set off a flurry of angry messages among smokers, and a small opposition group warned the new taxes could unleash a popular revolt.    The Islamists are believed to get large sums from Iran and a network of Hamas supporters abroad.
  
• 5/3/2010 Netanyahu ready to restart peace talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Arab nation's endorsement of indirect, U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians, saying he is ready to restart negotiations "at any time and at any place."    Israeli and Palestinian officials said they expect the talks to begin by early next week, and dialogue would go beyond formalities and include preliminary discussions on "core issues" in the decades-long conflict.
  
• 5/6/2010 Mideast peace talks begin after mediation by AP.
      Jerusalem - A U.S. mediator launched Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations after a break of more than a year, starting a shuttle mission between a hard-line Israeli government and a Palestinian administration in control of only part of its territory.    The U.S. Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, met for three hours with Netanyahu to start the indirect talks.    Mitchell will travel between Netanyahu's office and the headquarters of Abbas.
  
• 5/9/2010 Palestinians OK indirect talks with Israel by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinian leaders gave their backing for indirect peace talks with Israel, clearing the way for the Obama administration's first sustained Mideast peace effort, to try to narrow the vast gaps on the terms of statehood.    The decision by the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee was widely expected since Palestinian President Abbas wanted the indirect negotiations and has received support from the Arab League.
  
• 5/29/2010 Israeli gunships sail to intercept activists' flotilla by Ian Deitch, AP.
      Haifa, Israel - Israeli gunships headed out to sea to stop a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists from reaching the Gaza Strip, the military said, setting the stage for what could become a dramatic showdown on the high seas.
      Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the country was prepared to stop the flotilla "at any cost."    The military says it will intercept the ships, escort them to shore and give the activists the choice of deportation or jail.    After a security check, it will transfer the cargo to Gaza through the U.N.    A total of seven ships were headed to Gaza, and Israel has intention to prevent Hamas from rearming its rockets, as it already allows more than enough food and medicine into the strip.    Critics, however say the blockade has crushed Gaza's economy, eliminated 100,000 jobs and prevented the territory from repairing the destruction caused by an Israeli military offensive early last year.
      On the 30th the flotilla was delayed and held up near Cyprus.
  
• 5/30/2010 Israel a key to conference on nuclear-arms ban in Mideast by AP.
      United Nations - After 15 years, Arab nations finally won agreement from the U.S. and other nuclear powers to take the first step toward banning nuclear weapons from the Middle East.    Now the next move is Israel's, who rejected the resolution calling it "deeply flawed and hypocritical."    The U.S. joined the 188 other nations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty giving the green light to a 2012 conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
      Israel is the only true democracy and the only country threatened with annihilation in the Middle East.
  
• 6/1/2010 Israel's flotilla raid sparks global furor - 9 killed after commandos board aid boats by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel faces a diplomatic firestorm over its deadly attack against a protest flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and accused Israel of using excessive force in the raid in international waters.    Israel defended its actions, saying soldiers were ambushed with knives and metal bars, as well as handguns wrested from the commandos.    Israel's military said nine protesters were killed in the raid, which was 40 miles off Israel's coast and seven Israeli soldiers were hurt.
      On the 2nd Israeli diplomat defended his country's actions despite protests, and expelled 700 activists and will deport all of them within the next two days, except for 50 of them for investigation into their part in the violence at sea.
      On the 5th Israel vowed to keep an aid ship from breaching its blockade of Gaza Strip appealing to the pro-Palestinian activists to dock at an Israeli port and avoid another showdown at sea.
  
• 6/8/2010 Egypt will keep its border with Gaza open, official says by AP.
      Sharm El-Sheikj, Egypt - An Egyptian security official declared the blockade of Gaza a failure and said his country will keep its border with the Palestinian territory open indefinitely.    Keeping that crossing point open long term would ease the blockade imposed by Israel three years ago to isolate and punish Gaza's Hamas rulers and to try to stop weapons from reaching Hamas militants.    It also restores a link to the outside world for some of Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians.
      Egypt opened its border with Gaza soon after Israel's deadly raid on an international flotilla of activists.    For now Egypt is only allowing a restricted group of Gazans to leave the territory, including medical patients, students, and those with residency abroad, somewhat defusing the anger in the Arab and Muslim world over Egypt's role in maintaining the blockade.
  
• 6/15/2010 Israel approves inquiry on flotilla by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's government approved an investigation into the deadly raid on a flotilla allowing two accomplished foreign observers.    Representatives of the 27-nation EU, called the three-year blockade unacceptable and offered to renew the EU's role in helping supervise Gaza's volatile border crossings.    The EU call added to the pressure Israel has faced to lift the blockade including President Obama.    Turkey condemned the Israeli plan and threatened to sever what remains of its tattered relations with the Jewish state.
      On the 18th an Israeli decision to ease its blockade under intense international pressure.    Regardless of pressure Israel will allow in more construction materials to repair the war damage, but security is priority which is aimed at stopping daily rocket attacks.
  
• 6/21/2010 Obama slated for meetings with Israeli, Saudi leaders by AP.
      Washington - President Barack Obama's next White House meeting with Netanyahu is set for July 6.    The White House has announced a $400 million aid package for Gaza and the West Bank.    Obama is to meet with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on June 29, with the Mideast peace process among the topics of discussion.
  
• 6/23/2010 Israel to Iran: Don't send ship to Gaza by AP.
      Jerusalem - Iran said that it would send a blockade-busting ship carrying 1,100 tons of supplies and aid and 10 pro-Palestinian activists to Gaza, fueling concern in Israel, where commandos were training for another possible confrontation at sea and a possible suicide bomber aboard.    Israel warned archenemy Iran to drop the plan.
      On the 24th, Netanyahu said that Iran only intends to allow the free flow of weapons into the Palestinian territory.
  
• 7/5/2010 Presbyterians look at Israel aid by The Courier-Journal.
      Representatives from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are campaigning to vote on a recommendation to halt U.S. aid to Isarel until it halts settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian lands.
  
• 7/7/2010 Obama and Netanyahu to focus on peace talks by AP.
      Washington - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to soothe rocky relations, declaring that any talk of a rift is unfounded, and a bond that is unbreakable.    Obama said, "The United States is committed to Israel's security."
  
• 7/18/2010 Abbas offers terms for talks by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas said he'll resume direct peace talks if Israel accepts its 1967 frontier as a baseline for borders of a Palestinian state and agrees to the deployment of an international force to guard them.    Abbas is under growing pressure from the U.S. to resume negotiations and met with Mideast envoy, George Mitchell recently.    Abbas' latest comments hinted at flexibility in his position, and did not mention a comprehensive Israel settlement freeze as a condition.    Netanyahu has insisted on talks without conditions.    Abbas and Ehud Olmert in 2008 had reached an agreement in principle on security arrangements, including the deployment of an international force in the future Palestinian state.    Also a land swap that would allow Israel to annex some Jewish settlements on war-captured lands and compensate the Palestinians with an equal amount of Israeli land.    The two sides disagreed on the amount of land to be swapped.
  
• 7/29/2010 U.S. assurance may aid peace talks, Egypt says by AP.
      Cairo - Egypt says it has gotten U.S. assurances that may help restart direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.    Since President Barack Obama has committed to seeking direct peace talks with a two-state solution.    Abbas has said he won't negotiate directly with Israel unless it agrees to recognize its 1967 frontier as a basis for the borders of a future state and freezes settlements, which Netanyahu has refused to be pinned down on.
  
• 8/5/2010 Clash over cypress highlights tensions in Israel, Lebanon by Mark Lavie, AP.
      Jerusalem - It took no more than cutting down a cypress tree to shatter four years of calm on the Israel-Lebanon border.    With Israel uneasy about the growing arsenal of Hezbollah - the real power in the Lebanese border area - and Lebanon influenced by Iranian-backed group's clout, a clash that left four dead showed how a small spark could ignite another war.
      It started from an Israeli soldier on a crane dangled over a fence near the border to trim a tree that could provide cover for infiltrators.    This was followed by gunfire from the Lebanese army, aimed at the soldier hanging over the fence, but the shots killed an officer some distance away and wounded another.    Israel responded with gunfire, killing two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist.    Lebanon did not fire any rocket attacks which kept Israel from retaliating.
  
• 8/17/2010 If Israel strikes Iran, the world has been given notice by George F. Will, The Washington Post.
      Jerusalem - When Israel declared Independence in 1948, it had to use mostly small arms to repel attacks by six Arab armies.    Today, however, Israel feels, and is, more menaced that it was then, or has been since.    Netanyahu's belief that stopping Iran's nuclear weapons program is integral to stopping the worldwide campaign to reverse 1948.    It is, he says, a campaign to "put the Jew back to the status of a being that couldn't defend himself - a perfect victim."
      Today's Middle East, he says, reflects two developments.    One is the rise of Iran and militant Islam since the 1979 revolution, which led to al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah.    The other is the multiplying threat of missile warfare.
      Now Israel faces a third threat, the campaign to delegitimizse it in order to extinguish its capacity for self-defense.    The reflexive worldwide chorus of condemnation when Israel responded with force to rocket barrages from Gaza and from southern Lebanon, there was a consensus that Israel is not allowed to exercise self-defense.
      From 1948 through 1973, he says, enemies tried to eliminate Israel by conventional warfare, and failed, then they tried to demoralize and paralyze Israel with suicide bombers and other terrorism.    We put up a fence.    Now they have rockets that go over the fence, forcing Israel to stress missile defense, which could not cope with Hamas' tens of thousands of rockets and Hezbollah's 60,000 in southern Hezbollah, which resulted in the 2006 war inhibiting Hezbollah arming at certain locations, and since their rocket arsenal has tripled.
      Last year was Barack Obama's wasted year to engage Iran, just using sanctions that had no effect.    Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, says Israel is the "enemy of God."    Iran may be a nuclear power in two years, and if Israel strikes Iran, the world will not say it was not warned.
  
• 8/21/2010 Leaders will arrive in D.C. next week by AP.
      Washington - Plunging into the Mideast peacemaker's role that has defeated so many U.S. leaders, President Barack Obama invited Israel and the Palestinians to try anew in face-to-face talks on Sept. 2 for a historic agreement to establish an independent Palestinian state and secure peace for Israel.    Winning agreement to at least restart the direct talks makes good on an Obama campaign promise to confront the festering conflict early in his presidency.    So he is bringing the two sides to Washington for a symbolic handshake to deal with the world's problems just when jobless recovery to midterm elections are not going well.
      Chances for success are slim, unless he can close the gaps in their positions and rebuild trust.    On top of that, Hamas, the militant faction refuses to recognize Israel, rejected the peace talks, and will boost its campaign of violence to sabotage the talks.    At least Obama has something to take the U.S. citizens minds off of our problems.    The talks are doomed from the start as it has been, unless that figure in Revelation shows up to resolve this temporarily.
  
• 8/22/2010 Talk of 'two-state solution' for Israel, Palestinians is delusional by George F. Will, The Washington Post.
      Jerusalem - In 1991 in Madrid, Israelis and Palestinians, orchestrated by the U.S., engaged in direct negotiations, but 19 years later U.S. policy is enabling Palestinians to avoid direct negotiations by engaging in proximity talks.    Now we are trying to get them back to 1991, which is not even the same with binationalism which is impossible if Israel is to be a Jewish state for Jewish people.    Rhetoric about a two-state solution is delusional.
      Twenty-one Israeli settlements were dismantled, even the bodies of Israelis buried in Gaza were removed.    After a deeply flawed 2006 election encouraged by the U.S., there was in 2007 a coup in Gaza by the terrorist organization Hamas.    So now Israel has on its western border, 44 miles from Tel Aviv, an entity dedicated to Israel's destruction, collaborative with Iran and possessing a huge arsenal of rockets.    Rocket attacks from Gaza increased after Israel withdrew.    The number of U.N. resolutions deploring this?    Zero.    When Israel struck back at Hamas, the international community was theatrically appalled.    So, again: Negotiations about what?    And with whom?
      [Comment: "The U.S. and the West have learned nothing from history and, thus, are doomed to repeat it," quote by Cal Thomas]
  
• 8/29/2010 Israelis seeking biweekly peace talks by AP.
      Jerusalem - Netanyahu wants to meet with Abbas every two weeks once direct peace talks resume this week, which indicates he is serious about the talks and won't allow them to fizzle out after the meeting in the U.S.    The last round of Mideast peace talks broke down in late 2008 after Israel launched a three-week military offensive against Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip to stop near-daily rocket attacks on southern Israel.    Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh condemned the renewal of talks and demanded a boycott.
  
• 9/1/2010 Palestinians kill 4 Israelis on eve of Mideast peace talks by Mark Lavie, AP.
      Jerusalem - Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli car in the West Bank and killed four occupants on the eve of a new round of Mideast peace talks in Washington.    The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responisbility.
  
• 9/2/2010 Obama opens talks on Mideast - President: Moment cannot 'slip away' by Robert Burns, AP.
      Washington - President Barack Obama convened a new round of Mideast peace talks and told Israeli and Palestinian leaders they face a fleeting chance to settle deep differences.    Obama said, "This moment of opportunity may not soon come again.    They cannot afford to let it slip away.    Neither success nor failure is inevitable.    But this much we know: If we do not make the attempt, then failure is guaranteed.    If both sides do not commit to these talks in earnest, then long-standing conflict to fester and consume another generation, and this we simply cannot allow."     Obama met separately with Netanyahu and Abbas as well as with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
      On the 3rd in a first round of talks aimed at nailing down a framework for overcoming disputes and achieving lasting peace within a year.    The eventual aim is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state alongside a sucure Israel.    Netanyahu and Abbas plan to meet again Sept. 14-15 in the Middle East, probably at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, with the U.S. envoy, and both agreed to meet every two weeks after that.
  
• 9/6/2010 New mideast crisis looms over settlements by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Just days after Mideast peace talks began in Washington, a crisis looms: Israel hinted it will ease restrictions on building in West Bank settlements, while the Palestinian president warned he'll quit the talks if Israel resumes construction.    The new buliding in settlements expires Sept. 26, leaving Netanyahu with a tough choice.    If he extends the freeze he risks breaking up his hard-line coalition.    If he lifts the restriction, he risks being blamed for derailing negotiations and disrupting Obama's Mideast peace efforts.    Netanyahu wants negotiations to succeed after 17 years of failed attempts, and hopes to build a relationship of trust with Abbas.
  
• 9/8/2010 U.S. intervention on settlements sought by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has asked the U.S. to settle a dispute with Israel over settlement expansion that is threatening to derail Mideast peace talks.
  
• 9/9/2010 Israelis skeptical about peace by Diaa Hadid, AP.
      Jerusalem - Israelis ushered in the Jewish new year, or Rosh Hashana, at sundown with a widespread sense of pessimism that a new round of U.S.-sponsored Mideast talks can achieve peace.    Israel's military closed crossing points into the West Bank until the end of the holiday out of concern that militants could carry out attacks.    For Jews, the holiday begins a 10-day period of soul-searching solemnity leading up to the fast day fo atonement, Yom Kippur.
  
• 9/13/2010 Israel won't extend settlement building freeze by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the current building restrictions on West Bank settlements will not remain in place, though there will still be some limits on construction.
  
• 9/15/2010 Israelis, Palestinians make little progress by AP.
      Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt - Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed after a second round of peace talks started to continue aiming for a deal within a year, but failed to overcome a dispute over Israel's settlements that threatens to derail the U.S.-sponsored diplomacy.
  
• 9/16/2010 Mideast peace session ends with no deals by AP.
      Jerusalem - Palestinian militants and Israeli forces attacked each other, forming a grim backdrop to the latest round of U.S.-driven peace negotiations.    The talks ended with no agreement on the most pressing issue: Jewish settlements.
  
• 9/17/2010 Israeli construction key in progress of peace talks by AP.
      Amman, Jordan - Two days of Mideast peace talks appear to have brought Israel and the Palestinians closer to a deal that would allow those talks to continue, but even if the negotiations progress, far more difficult issues lay ahead.
      Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak suggested a compromise over Israel's plan to lift its partial ban on construction on the West Bank later this month, while Abbas sees no alternative to continuing negotiations with Israel.    But a compromise must come on that issue.
  
• 9/23/2010 Youths rampage in east Jerusalem by AP.
      Jerusalem - Crowds of Palestinian youths rampaged through east jerusalem after the shooting death of a man, clouding fragile peace efforts even as the Palestinian president signaled he may back away from negotiations.    At one point, Israeli riot police stormed a hilltop compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary - the most explosive site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the place where the last Palestinian uprising began almost exactly 10 years ago.    That uprising - which killed thousands in five years - erupted after a failed peace effort at Camp David.
  
• 9/24/2010 Obama seeks Arab support - President's U.N. speech urges nations to back Middle East peace effort by Tribune Washington Bureau.
      United Nations - Obama pushed Arab nations to provide more political and financial support for the Middle East peace effort.    While addressing the U.N., Obama warned members that they should not risk the failure of the latest talks and suggested it might be the best deal for which they can hope.    He deplored the efforts to isolate or delegitimize Israel, and stop trying to tear Israel down, and this will only be met by the unshakable opposition of the United States.
  
• 9/26/2010 In Israel, mindset for defense fuels innovation by Harvey Mackay.
      Not long ago, a young Israeli entrepreneur named Shvan Shaked from an outfit named Fraud Sciences got his foot in the door at PayPal, the giant among Internet payment systems.    His elevator pitch His team had and incredibly simple way to unearth "online payment scams, credit card fraud, and electronic identity theft."
      PayPal officials were polite but you could guess what they thought: sure, buddy, dream on!    Then their techno-mavens tested Fraud Science's system and were shocked to find it really worked.    PayPal didn't just buy the idea.    In 2008, it bought Fraud Sciences.    How did these start-up whizzes concoct this brainstorm?    Using the same principle Israel banked on to track down terrorists.
      "When you've been developing technology to find terrorists," as one expert put it, "then finding thieves is pretty simple."
      Israel represents the greatest concentration of innovation and entrepreneurship in the world today.    Israel's defense requirements play no small part in shaping the country's business culture.    Much of Israel's front-end entrepreneurial zing comes from the nuts-and-bolts pragmatism of its battle-tested military elite:
  
  • If most air forces are designed like a Formula One race car, the Israeli Air Force is a beat-up jeep with lots of tools in it, which works better in their environment.
  • The Israeli army has very few colonels and an abundance of lieutenants.
  • In the trenches leaders take risk at a tender age: Company commanders are 23.
  • Instead of deciding which college to attend, Israelis are weighing the merits of different military units.
  • Decades ago, Israel decided to give its most talented young people the most intensive technology training that the universities and the military had to offer.
  • They charge as a team and help each other to be successful.
      Israel's resourceful economy has also focused on little things that make a difference:
  • The "drip irrigation" systems that have helped 240 million trees bloom in a once barren desert.
  • An aversion to large, readily identifiable manufactured goods with high shipping costs, and an attraction to small, anonymous components and software.
  • Harnessing the determination of Israel's dynamic immigrant population since they are not averse to starting over because they are risk takers.
  • In the informal and sometimes rough-elbowed work place, a tolerance for construction failures.
  • The attitude toward hierarchy - cultivated in the military - which can be rough and tumble.    Employees aren't timid about challenging bosses.
• 9/26/2010 Abbas: Talks hinge on end to settlements by AP.
      United Nations - Abbas said there will be no peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish state stops settlement construction in areas the Paelstinians claim for their future state.    Abbas claimed that the Palestinians are continously pushed into the corner of violence and conflict as a result of Israel's mentality of expansion and domination.    He also demanded an end to Israel's repeated flouting of U.N. resolutions, its destruction of the historical identity of Jerusalem, and its blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has created massive suffering for the poeple living there.    The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank, home to 300,000 Jewish settlers, as part of a future state.    Boy those Paletinians have done no wrong.
  
• 9/27/2010 Israel's building curb ends by AP.
      Revava, West Bank - Jewish settlers celebrated as a 10-month construction slowdown expired.    U.S. and Israeli leaders tried to work out how to keep Palestinians from walking out of peace talks over the end of the restrictions.
      The Palestinians asked for an Oct. 4 meeting of an Arab League body to discuss the situation, to give time to reach a compromise.
  
• 9/29/2010 U.S. sends envoy, hoping to salvage Mideast talks by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The White House sent its Mideast envoy to the region in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the collapse of peace talks, but Abbas seemed reluctant to walk away giving the U.S. a week to find a compromise.    George Mitchell spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a political centrist who has sweeping powers to veto or approve settlement projects.    Then he would speak with Netanyahu and Abbas later.
  
• 9/30/2010 Palestinians dig in ahead of U.S. talks - EU also sends envoy to region by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Palestinians dug in ahead of a crucial meeting with Washington's Mideast envoy and the impasse with a deadline looming.    The European Union's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton came in to lend a hand also.    It seems like everyone is pointing the blame at Israel for the breakdown of talks, and it is Abbas who is talking about walking away.
      George Mitchell is scrambling to enlist the help of Arab leaders to rescue the talks.
  
• 10/7/2010 Israeli leader weighs new curbs on settlements by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Netanyahu has been sounding out key Cabinet members on extending a freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements for two months in hopes of keeping peace talks alive, but he faces stiff resistance and at present silence.
      On the 8th in Jerusalem a top Palestinian official said that his side would accept an American proposal for Israel to curtail settlement construction for two months, which the U.S. offered incentives for Israel to extend a just expired settlement slowdown.
  [Comment: The Palestinians have offered nothing but demands.]
  
• 10/9/2010 Arab League gives U.S. a month to salvage talks by AP.
      Sirte, Libya - The 22-nation Arab League ministers agreed to give the U.S. another month to try to persuade Israel to renew curbs on West Bank settlement construction and keep the talks from collapsing.    Underscoring the potential for violence, Israeli troops killed two senior Hamas militants in the West Bank.    The ministers said they would meet in a month to study alternatives and decide on next steps giving the U.S. some breathing room.
  
• 10/12/2010 Israel offers conditional freeze on construction - Palestinians reject proposal by The Washington Post.
      Jerusalem - Netanyahu offered to extend a freeze on building in the West Bank settlements if the Palestinian leadership declares that it recognizes Israel as the Jewish state, which was his first public signal of flexibility on the issue.    The offer was rejected by the Palestinians.
      Netanyahu said, "If the Palestinian leadership will say unequivocally to its people that it recognizes Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, I will be prepared to convene my cabinet and request an additional suspension of building for a limited period of time.    Just as the Palestinians expect us to recognize the Palestinian state as their nation-state, we are permitted to expect that they recognize the Jewish state as our nation-state," he added that his demand was not a condition for negotiations.
      Abbas responded that "there is no connection between halting settlement construction and the demand for recognition of Israel as the Jewish state."
      The U.S. has offered a package of security assurances and promises of military hardware in exchange for a 60-day extension of the settlement freeze.
  
• 10/16/2010 Israel approves housing sites in East Jerusalem by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel has ended its unofficial building freeze in east Jerusalem, giving the green light for hundreds of new homes in Jewish neighborhoods of the traditionally Arab sector of the city - and dealing another potential blow to U.S.-led efforts to salvage peace negotiations.
  
• 10/18/2010 Abbas: State would end claims against Israel by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Abbas said his people are willing to end all historic claims against Israel once they get their state as part of a peace pact.    An end-of-claims declaration is a long-standing Israeli demand, and Abbas addressed the issue in an interview on Israel TV.
  
• 10/19/2010 Netanyahu: Hamas has anti-aircraft missiles by AP.
      Jerusalem - Gaza's Hamas rulers have obtained anti-aircraft missiles, Israel's prime minister said in a potentially game-changing development that could threaten the Israeli air force's ability to strike at the Islamic militant group.    He said any future peace agreement would have to include security arrangements to deal with the threat.
  
• 10/21/2010 $60 billion deal would help with Iranian, extremist threats by Bloomberg News.
      Washington - The Defense Department notified Congress that it plans to sell up to $60 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia to help confront threats from Iran and regional extremists.    The sale may be the largest in U.S. history to another country, which includes Boeing F-15 fighter jets, attack helicopters and satellite-guided bombs, and helicopters made by United Technologies and advanced radar from Raytheon.    Congress has until Nov. 20 to stop the sale to Saudi Arabia, who could have bought the equipment from from Britain, France, Russia or China.    The U.S. wants a deterrent for those who want to undermine stability in the Middle East, the world's biggest oil-producing region.    Other countries for a deal is the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, and Israel has not opposed the sale.
  
• 10/22/2010 U.S.- Saudi arms deal ripples through region by AP.
      Dubai, United Arab Emirates - As U.S. and Saudi officials worked on their wish list for wapons, while leaders in Iran were busy publicly displaying their advances in missiles, navel craft and air power.    Iranian president Ahmadinejad unveiled a drone bomber, dubbed the "ambassador of death" - that would keep foes in the region paralyzed on their bases.
      The sale to Saudia Arabia and the retooling of Israeli policies to tacitly support a stronger, American-armed helps reinforce the Persian Gulf as the Pentagon's front line network against Iran along with bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  
• 10/22/2010 U.N. envoy: Building by Israel 'alarming' by AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.N. Mideast envoy criticized Israel's renewed building in West Bank settlements documented in an investigation of 544 apartments since the halt.    So talks are at a standstill, and the construction is "illegal under international law, U.N. envoy Robert Serry stated.
  
• 10/25/2010 Israel endorses talks - Palestinians may pursue 'Plan B' by AP.
      Jerusalem - Netanyahu urged the Palestinians to avoid unilateral action and resume peace talks.    The move reflected growing concern that the Palestinian leadership may be inching toward a "Plan B" in which they would seek international recognition of an independent state without Israeli agreement.    Which is what they are trying to do.    Netanyahu said peace will only be achieved only through direct talks.
  
• 11/10/2010 Book confirms Israel targeted Syrian nuclear site by Josef Federman, AP.
      Jerusalem - Former President George W. Bush confirms in his memoir that the target of a 2007 Israeli air strike was a Syrian nuclear reactor and suggests he quietly approved - a revelation with special relevance at a time when Israel is calling for a "military option" agaisnt Iran's nuclear program.    Bush said the raid showed the Jewish state would go it alone and made up for the confidence he had lost in the Israelis because of the indecisive war in Lebanon a year before.    He also revelaed that Israel first asked the U.S. to bomb the site, but the Bush administration refused.    Bush praised ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his tough crackdown on Palestinian militants in the last decade and his animosity toward the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
      The September 6, 2007, air strike in Syria remains one of Israel's deepest secrets of recent times.    Syria announced at the time that its airspace had been invaded but gave no details, and Israel never commented on the operation.
      But in "Decision Points," published this week, Bush provides the strongest confirmation yet of reports citing experts and unidentified U.S. intelligence officials that Israel hit a nuclear reactor being built with North Korean assistance.    Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did what he believed was necessary to protect Israel.
  
• 11/15/2010 Obama hails peace effort in Mideast by AP.
      Washington - Obama hailed the prospect of a new settlement freeze in the West Bank as a promising step toward peace, urging Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate quickly.    He also pledged to return to the basic principles taking a more bipartisan tone and explaining his decisions better.    [Comment: Ha Ha, Obama acting like he can be bipartisan, Ha Ha.]
      Washington's new proposal for reviving Mideast peace talks includes a 90-day ban on housing starts in West Bank settlements - but not in east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital.    The goal is to give the sides time to shape borders.
      Netanyahu supports the plan and will try to win Cabinet approval.
      On the 16th Netanyahu scrambled to secure enough Cabinet votes to approve the U.S. proposal.    Although Israeli officials say the plan includes a gift of 20 stealth warplanes, Netanyahu faces opposition from hard-liners inside his coalition government.
  
• 11/22/2010 Abbas adds hurdle to reviving talks by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - Peace talks took another blow when Abbas rejected the latest U.S. plan, because it did not include east Jerusalem, a condition Israel staunchly opposes.    Palestinians claim east Jerusalem for their future capital.
• 11/23/2010 Israeli referendum could hinder peace by AP.
      Jerusalem - Israel's parliament passed a bill that could complicate peace efforts with the Palestinians and Syria by making it hard for any government to make territorial withdrawals.    The bill requires a two-thirds Knesset majority to cede land in east Jerusalem to the Palestinians or in the Golan Heights to Syria.    Failing that, either withdrawal would become subject to a referendum, and polls show winning public approval would be an uphill battle.
  
• 11/25/2010 Palestinians downplay wall's significance by AP.
      Jerusalem - An official Palestinian report claiming that a key Jewish holy site - Jerusalem's western Wall - has no religious significance to Jews evoked an angry response from Israelis.    Archaeologists have shown that the western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, was a retaining wall of the compound where the two biblical Jewish Temples stood 20 centuries ago.    The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Isalm's third-holiest site, is built atop the ruins.
      Al-Mutawakil Taha deputy minister of information in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, said that his study reflected the position that discounts centuries of documentation and archaeology.
  
• 12/3/2010 Palestinians angry over Israeli building plans by AP.
      Jerusalem - Palestinians decried Israeli plans to push forward on 625 new homes in east Jerusalem, saying that it shows Israel has chosen settlements over peace.    Israel's Interior Ministry confirmed that a district housing panel permitted the new housing project in Pisgat Ze'ev, a sprawling area of 50,000 residents, in October.
  
• 12/8/2010 U.S. reportedly won't ask Israel to curb settlements by AP.
      Washington - The Obama administration has abandoned attempts to persuade Israel to slow West Bank settlement activity, in what appears to be a major setback for a key White House foriegn policy initiative.
  
• 12/9/2010 Obama Mideast plan in doubt by Josef Federman, AP.
      Jerusalem - The U.S. abandonment of its efforts to coax a settlement freeze out of Israel marks the biggest failure yet in the Obama administration's much-trumpeted Mideast peace push, cast serious doubts over whether the president can broker a deal by his September target.
  [Comment: I would like to rephrase that, "marks the biggest failure yet outside of the U.S."]
  
• 12/14/2010 Hamas tries charm in bid to keep popularity by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Gaza's ruling Hamas movement has politicians sweeping streets to show community spirit, activists distributing chocolates and cards signed "from Hamas with love" and police officers visiting homes and schools to soften the security force's image.    The Islamic militants - who mark the anniversary of their movement's 1987 founding with a rally today - trying to reconnect with Gazans after more than three years in control of Gaza.    Gazans depend on handouts and struggle with more than 30 percent unemployment.    Gazans are less inclined to speak freely for fear of repercussions, and Hamas is detecting a growing impatience with Gaza's isolation and attempts to enforce conservative Islamic mores and stifle dissent.
  
• 12/26/2010 Hamas warns Israel over Gaza tensions by AP.
      Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The Hamas rulers of Gaza warned Israel that they will escalate hostilities if tensions don't subside along the border.    Hamas Abu Obeida said the group would respond aggressively to Israeli attacks.    Over the past week, Gaza's militants fired 30 rockets into southern Israel, lightly wounding a girl.    Israel hit back with multiple air strikes aimed at Hamas facilities, killing a Palestinian and wounding several others.    Israel bombed what it called a Gaza terror training facility and an arms smuggling tunnel under the border.    Hamas said no one was hurt.
  
• 12/28/2010 Netanyahu hints at interim agreement by AP.
      Jerusalem - Netanyahu said that if negotiations don't resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he could seek an interim accord instead of the comprehensive deal the U.S. wants.    Palestinians reject that idea.    Netanyahu said that if negotiations bog down on major issues that have stymied peace efforts for years, he could seek a short-term deal.
  
• 12/30/2010 Palestinians: U.N. must denounce settlements by AP.
      Ramallah, West Bank - The Palestinians plan to ask the U.N. Security Council to declare Israeli settlements illegal and demand a halt to construction in a highstakes gamble aimed at increasing pressure on Israel.    This would be a key element in a Palestinian campaign to rally international support for independence, even without a peace deal.
  
  Return each year for updates for 2011.
  
  

File created on April 15, 2006, and updated on December 31, 2006, August 17, 2007, July 24, 2008, April 1, 2009, Febuary 15, 2010, September 5, 2011, and October 12/2011.