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02/09/2006:

"Israel unveils plan to encircle Palestinian state"

The acting Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said yesterday that he plans to annex the Jordan Valley and major Jewish settlement blocks to Israel in drawing new borders, according to a television station that recorded an interview with him yesterday.

In Mr Olmert's first policy statement since he succeeded Ariel Sharon last month, Channel 2 television said that he made clear he intends to carry through his predecessor's vision of creating an emasculated Palestinian state on Israel's terms.
guardian.co.uk


Hamas sets out conditions for peace
The political leader of Hamas said today that he would only accept a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if Israel withdraws to its pre-1967 borders and accepts the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
"When Israel says that it ... will withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and grant the right of return, stop settlements and recognise the rights of the Palestinians to self-determination, only then Hamas will be ready to take a serious step," Khaled Meshal told the BBC.

"There's a problem that happened to the Palestinians. They were a people that used to live on their land, and did not find justice from the international community," he said.

"There are roots to the problem, but in reality we now say that if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, there could be peace and security in the region, and agreements between the sides, until the international community finds a way to solve everybody's problems."

Asked whether, if Israel "changed", and was prepared to implement a two-state solution along the pre-1967 borders, Hamas would accept it, and live in peace alongside it, Mr Meshal said: "If Israel changes, come and ask me to change."