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Israel Rejects Mecca Agreement as Out of Line with Quartet Conditions
by Aluf Benn
  Israel last week rejected the Mecca agreement on a Palestinian unity government. It says the accord is not in line with the Quartet of Middle East mediators' conditions - recognition of Israel, renouncing violence, and ratifying past agreements and the road map. Government sources said Israel would insist on the three conditions, which are expected to be the focus of the tri-partite summit between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next Monday. (Ha'aretz)
Israeli Hospitals Treat Palestinians Wounded by Infighting
by Diaa Hadid
 Palestinian victims of bitter Gaza fighting between Fatah and Hamas loyalists are being given medical care at the hands of their traditional enemy - Israel. A total of 10 people wounded in fighting have come to Israel for treatment, including eight recovering at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. While thankful for their treatment, Palestinians recovering in Barzilai have still found it hard to accept that Israeli doctors are healing their wounds. Shlomo Dror, a military spokesman, said thousands of Palestinians are permitted to enter Israel each year for medical treatment. (AP/Combined Jewish Philanthropies)
Rice, Allies at Odds on How to Revive Israel-Palestinian Peace Talks
by Farah Stockman
 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and some U.S. allies agreed last week to try to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, but clashed over how to handle the Palestinian militant group Hamas and one of its key backers, Syria. While Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany argued in favor of engagement, Rice defended the U.S. policy of shunning Syria and Hamas. A senior State Department official described efforts to engage Syria and Hamas as a "waste" of time. (Boston Globe)
See also Rice: Israel-Palestinian Peace Won't Help Iraq by Yitzhak Benhorin (Ynet News)
Palestinians Fire Four Rockets at Israel
by Mijal Grinberg
 Palestinians in Gaza last week fired four Kassam rockets at Israel. One rocket caused damage to a health clinic and adjoining houses at a western Negev kibbutz. Two other rockets landed near the city of Ashkelon. (Ha'aretz)
See also New York City Council Members Duck Rocket Fire in Israel - Matthew Chayes
A delegation of New York City Council members experienced a rocket attack on a trip to an Israeli town near Gaza. As local officials were explaining how often Sderot comes under Palestinian Arab fire, an alarm went off, warning of an imminent rocket attack. The 11-member City Council delegation hurried to an underground room from the office of Mayor Eli Moyal. (New York Sun)
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Hamas Official: Unity Government Will Not Recognize Israel
by Avi Issacharoff
 The Palestinian unity government which will be formed under an agreement reached in Saudi Arabia will not recognize Israel, a political advisor to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said last week. "The issue of recognition was not addressed at all (in Mecca)," Ahmed Youssef said. "In the platform of the new government there will be no sign of recognition (of Israel), regardless of the pressures the United States and the Quartet would exert," he said. (Ha'aretz)
Report: Nasrallah Admits Iran Supplies Hizbullah with Arms
by Jack Khoury
 Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah has said it is no secret that Iran is aiding Hizbullah by sending money and weapons via Syria. In remarks published in an interview in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al-Aam, Nasrallah also is willing to receive aid not only from Iran but also from Muslim countries that have diplomatic ties with Israel, such as Egypt, and states that are considered moderate, such as Saudi Arabia. Nasrallah said that his organization kidnapped Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser in order to effect the release of Lebanese prisoners being held in Israel, but admitted that he had made mistakes. (Ha'aretz)
See also Hizbullah Raises Flags Along Israel's Northern Border
The act was seen as a message from Hizbullah to Israel that despite the deployment of an expanded UNIFIL force and the Lebanese army, the group was still present in southern Lebanon. (UPI)
IDF, Lebanese Army Exchange Fire Across Israel's Northern Border
Lebanese army troops fired last week on Israeli troops hunting for explosives along the Israel-Lebanon border. UNIFIL spokesman Milos Strugar said, "The exchange was initiated by the Lebanese army after an IDF bulldozer crossed the technical fence in an apparent attempt to clear the area between the technical fence and the Blue Line [the international border] of mines." (CNN)
See also Israeli Forces Did Not Cross International Border - Hanan Greenberg
Israeli troops were operating in the area between the Israeli fence and the Lebanese border, combing for additional Hizbullah explosive devices similar to the ones found earlier this week. IDF forces did not cross the international border, although Hizbullah's mouthpiece, al-Manar TV, falsely reported that Israeli troops had entered into Lebanese territory. (Ynet News)
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