PM Olmert meets Chairman Abbas to discuss Palestinian state framework

The meeting yesterday between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jericho is widely reported by all UK and international papers today. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during the meeting they discussed the fundamental issues regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Guardian publishes an editorial on the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic developments calling for a Palestinian state with defined borders. Meanwhile, the Times notes that the current diplomatic efforts are threatened by the lack of support for both leaders. The paper also carries an interview with Fatah gunmen who have been granted amnesty by Israel. BBC Online, meanwhile, carries a piece on three Palestinians and their lives in Gaza under Hamas rule. The Financial Times runs an article by Gideon Rahman on the road to peace between Israelis and Palestinians amid other Middle East conflicts. In other news, the Financial Times and BBC Online note that the Lebanese by-election victory by Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun strengthens the pro-Syrian stance against Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, while the Independent runs a piece by Robert Fisk analysing Aoun's victory.

In the Israeli press, all papers report on a positive and constructive meeting yesterday between PM Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas in Jericho. In other news, all papers report that Israeli police evacuated two Jewish families who invaded the Hebron marketplace this morning. The papers also note that during a visit to Israel Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gar Store said yesterday that Norway had cut all ties with Hamas since its takeover of Gaza. Meanwhile, Haaretz notes that PM Olmert is examining a new framework for peace that proposes Israel transfer to the Palestinian Authority areas equivalent to 100% of the territories captured in 1967. The paper also notes that UN Security-General Ban Ki-moon urged the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of the 13,000 soldier UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews note extracts from the transcript of Ehud Barak's testimony to the Winograd Committee. The Jerusalem Post reports that Iran has begun mass production of its first fighter jet.

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