The spokesman is Yossi Ben-Aharon - a long-time Foreign Service official and currently a writer and commentator on current events.
Ben-Aharon told Arutz-7 that Israel has nothing to be happy about following Abu Mazen's visit to Washington this past Thursday: "Bush said that no change in the 1949 armistice lines could be considered for the final status without the agreement of the Palestinian Authority. This emptied of all content that which Sharon has bragged about the U.S. recognizing, for the first time, Israel's right to annex settlement blocs."
Ben-Aharon said that Bush's remarks at his press conference with Abu Mazen shows that the disengagement from Gaza has been incorporated into the Road Map, "and it is no longer what the prime minister said it was, namely, a process that will delay the implementation of the Road Map."

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The head of Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox church has denied claims he knew church land in East Jerusalem was being sold to Jewish property speculators.
Allegations in Israeli newspapers have enraged Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox community, which is mainly Palestinian.
They believe Israel is aiming to expand illegal Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem to isolate Palestinian areas.
On Thursday Palestinian officials asked the US to block growth of the largest West Bank settlement, Maale Adumim.
Patriarch Irineos I hit back at claims he was complicit in the sale of land in East Jerusalem to Jewish developers overseas, saying: "If I have done this, let them cut off my hands."

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[The Sanhedrin, Israel]
Since its meeting on 28th Shvat 5765, the Sanhedrin has deliberated the initiative of the Prime Minister of Israel, the decisions of the government, and legislation enacted by the Knesset regarding the plan known as "The Disengagement," henceforth referred to in this document as "the uprooting."
This plan involves the uprooting of Jewish communities in the Gaza strip and northern Samaria, the forced expulsion of Jews from their homes, and the willful transfer of these lands to a foreign power.
Following an intensive study which took place regarding the halachic (authentic Jewish law) questions that arise from the government's decision, the Sanhedrin hereby brings its conclusions and decisions to the public's attention.

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A paragraph scrawled on a piece of hotel stationery by a young British civil servant in July 1917 will be sold next month by Sotheby's for hundreds of thousands of dollars. But its value goes far beyond money, as Donald Macintyre explains
26 May 2005
The term "living history" is a cliché that slips as easily from the lips of museum curators as it does from the makers of documentary films.
But it may actually help to explain why a single paragraph of roughly abbreviated handwriting scrawled on a piece of a Bloomsbury hotel's stationery by a young British civil servant in the summer of 1917 should attract such attention ­ and such a price-tag. It is easily the most valuable item in a batch of papers estimated by Sotheby's to be worth between $500,000 (£273,000) and $800,000 when it goes on sale at its New York auction house next month.

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By LARA SUKHTIAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 25, 7:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The     Palestinian Authority could receive more direct aid from the United States, a Bush administration official and congressional aides said Wednesday ahead of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' meeting with     President Bush.
Abbas is hoping Bush will reaffirm his commitment to the internationally backed road map peace plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and creating a Palestinian state. Abbas is concerned that U.S. support for Israel's unilateral plan to withdraw from Gaza has diverted attention from the road map.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian leader sought support on Capitol Hill, hoping to convince lawmakers that he was serious about democracy, peace, and reform.



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