Today's Situation

NO HOLIDAY LET-UP, May 23, 2007

There were no newspapers published in Israel on Wednesday because of the Shavuot holiday - but there was no let-up in the Qassam attacks against Sderot and other towns in the western Negev.

According to Ynet, the Internet site of Yedioth Ahronoth, almost a dozen rockets were fired on Tuesday and Wednesday morning; one of them landed in Sderot, causing damage to cars and a home, but there were no casualties.

There was also no break in Israel's aerial response to the rocket attacks. Israel Radio reports that the air force struck a building in Jabalya in northern Gaza used by Hamas to store munitions early Wednesday morning. An army spokesman said an aircraft fired missiles into the building, and secondary explosions were observed. On Tuesday, 15 Palestinians were wounded in air strikes on three arms caches and three other Hamas facilities across the Strip.

Palestinian security officials, quoted by Ynet, said Israeli troops detained seven Palestinians near the border area with Israel early Wednesday, that in a brief foray into Gaza. Five of the Palestinians were later released, the officials said.

Also Tuesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Gaza, where he is due to meet Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas later Wednesday. Abbas' motorcade, comprising dozens of vehicles, arrived in Gaza late Tuesday. Fateh officials refused to divulge the timing or location of the meeting, citing security concerns. They said the two men are to discuss the restoration of law and order, and the resumption of a truce with Israel. Abbas is also expected to meet with representatives of all Palestinian factions in an effort to restore calm following internal strife. On Tuesday, Abbas met with an Egyptian security delegation, with whom he discussed ways in which an understanding could be reached with Israel to end its attacks on the Strip.

According to Haaretz, a senior aide to Haniyeh said Wednesday that the Palestinians would not agree to a ceasefire with Israel that is limited to the Gaza Strip and does not include the West Bank. 'If it is going to be for Gaza only, then no one will be able to convince the Palestinian resistance factions to commit to that," said Haniyeh's political advisor, Ahmed Yusuf.

Elsewhere, NRG, the website of Maariv, carries a report from an Egyptian news agency, which claims that, despite the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, talks were still ongoing to secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. According to the report, Israel has agreed to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners from its jails,

Meanwhile, Army Radio reports that UN chief Ban Ki-Moon is sending his newly appointed special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Britain's Michael Williams, to the region. A spokeswoman for Ban said Williams would begin meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Thursday, and would then head for Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials.

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