TO PRIME MINISTER OLMERT AND PRESIDENT BUSH    
In the light of God's warning to the nations through His prophet Joel that He will one day bring them to judgment for dividing the land He repeatedly vowed to give to just one nation - His own beloved and Chosen People - it is appalling to read Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's expressed belief that he can almost see the hand of God behind the crazy idea* being pushed upon Israel by the nations of the world: that a 23rd Muslim Arab state - Palestine - be established in the heart of this already tiny little land.
As you must know, Mr. Olmert, this is not the advice of friends but of self-serving politicians who are afraid or unable to withstand the immense pressures of the whole Muslim world (of more than 40 nations) and also the millions of Muslims within their own borders. No, this is not the kind advice of friends, but unconscionable exploitation for reasons of expediency. And it is certainly not the hand of God behind all this pressure, but the sinister influence of your combined enemies-or should we say, the Enemy?
Therefore, together with millions of ...   more »

Herb Keinon
The US is preparing a plan to station third party troops in the West Bank to secure the area after an Israeli withdrawal and before the Palestinian Authority can take over full security control, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The issue of how to deal with the period between when Israel leaves large swaths of the West Bank and the PA is able to take over control is likely to be discussed during talks President George W. Bush will hold in Jerusalem and in the PA on Wednesday and Thursday.
US Special Envoy for Middle East Security James Jones has been assigned the task of preparing a plan on this issue within six moths.
A number of options are being considered, including the involvement of NATO troops or Jordanian and Egyptian forces. Jones, a former Marine Corps general, was NATO's top military commander from 2003 to 2005.
He visited here on December 18, and discussed the concept with his Israeli interlocutors. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who appointed Jones immediately after November's Annapolis Conference, hinted at this role in a briefing she gave reporters on her way to the PA donors' conference in Paris in mid-December.
Rice ...   more »

Senior ruling party source says Kadima likely to opt for replacing Olmert if Winograd war report's conclusions do not allow him to remain in office. 'Early elections are out of the question, Livni or Mofaz can replace him in post,' he states
Amnon Meranda
As the release of Winograd Commission's final report on the Second Lebanon War approaches, speculations in the political arena are mounting and MKs begin preparing for the report's aftermath.   
A senior Kadima official told Ynet Monday that many in the faction have already agreed to promote the election of a new chairman in case the report's conclusions do not allow Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to remain in office.  
"The members agree that early elections are out of the question," he said. "If the final report does not allow Olmert to continue in his position, we will have to elect a new chairman that will replace him as prime minister."   
The senior official stated that Olmert was expected to resign if the report indicated that he should do so. "There is no reason why we should go to early elections. There are good forces in Kadima that can contend over leadership, such as (Foreign ...   more »