PA Chairman Abbas agrees to indirect talks with Israel

The announcement yesterday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordering his nuclear chief to begin production of high grade uranium is widely reported by all UK and international media. The papers also note the response from the international community to the announcement. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates called for international cooperation to force Iran to halt its nuclear programme, while the Scotsman notes that the UK Foreign Office called the Iranian announcement a serious concern and a breach of five UN Security Council resolutions.

Over the weekend, the papers followed Ahmadinejad's announcement. In other news, the Sunday Times reported that the first woman Leila Ghannam, a former Palestinian intelligence office, was appointed the governor of Ramallah in the West Bank. The Financial Times ran an opinion piece on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas calling on him to make progress in peace talks with Israel.

In the Israeli media today, all papers report on the announcement by Iranian President Ahmadinejad that his country will begin to enrich high-grade uranium. Haaretz notes that Palestinian sources said yesterday that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will accept a US proposal to hold indirect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations mediated by US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell. The Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews report that King Abdullah of Jordan told CNN yesterday that the US must give its "undivided attention" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The paper also notes that Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon publicly shook hands with Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al-Faisal during an annual security conference in Munich on Saturday. Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that PA and Israeli security officials jointly arrested six Al-Qaeda-linked operatives in the West Bank. The Jerusalem Post reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Moscow next Sunday and will raise the issue of Iran's nuclear programme with Russia. The paper also notes that the UK increased its funding for joint research projects with Israel.

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