Germany, Angela Merkel  
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday to discuss Israel's conflict with Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip as well as Iran's controversial nuclear program, Israeli officials said.
An Israeli official said before the meeting that Merkel was "very curious" about the situation along the Gaza border, where violence threatens to complicate Palestinian statehood talks that resumed after the Annapolis peace conference in November.
Public pressure has been mounting in Israel for Olmert to order a wide scale military operation against Hamas to curb cross-border rocket fire that has been disrupting life in towns and communities along the frontier.
While Olmert toured Berlin's Jewish Museum, pausing to tell reporters that Israel was "at war" with Hamas, residents of the southern Israeli town of Sderot disrupted traffic in Tel Aviv to protest against his government's failure to end the launchings.
A senior Israeli official declined to comment on whether Olmert would lobby Merkel to support stronger Israeli military action in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million Palestinians live in densely populated areas.
Israel's recent tightening of a Gaza blockade and cutback in fuel supplies, part of a declared bid to pressure militants to ...   more »

By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service   
Tags: Israel, peace process  
Shas Chairman Eli Yishai on Monday stepped up his party's threats to resign from the government over the ongoing peace talks with the Palestinians, warning against moving forward in the peace process as long as terrorism against Israelis continues.
"If there is any diplomatic progress in the negotiations with Palestinians beyond the current situation, and we are still under fire from Qassams and West Bank incidents, Shas will quit the government immediately," he said.
Shas has taken a tougher stance on diplomatic issues, and stepped up threats to resign from the government, since the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party walked out of the government in protest over the decision to launch talks on the core issues of the conflict, including Jerusalem, refugees, and borders.  
The ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party has said that talks on Jerusalem would constitute a red line, and in recent weeks has demanded that other core issues like permanent borders and refugees be kept off the table as well.
On Thursday, the Shas Knesset faction intends to tour the City of David in Jerusalem in order to express its commitment to the capital and make ...   more »

By Stan Goodenough
The Israel Defense Forces have been ordered to prepare for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip as terrorism from the "Palestinians" there continues unabated.
So said Defense Minister Ehud Barak in a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday as anger boiled over in the Negev town of Sderot following a week of intensive Kassam rocket attacks which left a number of residents wounded, some seriously.
"The residents of Sderot and the Gaza periphery are in the midst of a severe trial," Barak said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"The cry and the pain are difficult and understandable, and it is the duty of our government - in conjunction with the military and defensive effort - to assist them in every way."
Cynics wondered whether the minister's threat of a Gaza invasion was made simply to pacify citizens' anger.
Israelis have been calling with increasing stridency for effective action to defend the south. While the IDF has upped its targeted killings of Hamas and other "Palestinian" terrorists, however, the attacks have only increased in intensity and efficiency.
Some commentators questioned the wisdom of sending the IDF into the Gaza Strip on the ground....   more »

Prime minister repeatedly denies negotiations to split up holy city
By Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM – Current behind-the-scenes Israeli-Palestinian talks include negotiations aimed at dividing Jerusalem, according to a senior Palestinian negotiator involved in the negotiations. 
"Since [last November's U.S.-sponsored] Annapolis [summit], our regular meetings have been dealing with all the core issues, yes, of course including Jerusalem," said the Palestinian negotiator, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity. 
The official said he was talking off-the-record for fear of contradicting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has repeatedly insisted Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are not dealing with the status of Jerusalem.   
The Israeli Shas party, an important coalition partner in Olmert's government, has stated it would bolt the prime minister's coalition if it becomes clear the Israeli government is negotiating the ceding any part of Jerusalem. Shas' departure could collapse Olmert's government. 
"Nobody is talking about Jerusalem. The moment Jerusalem is being discussed Shas will leave the government – period," Shas Spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch told Israel National News. 
Olmert must maintain a majority of the Knesset's 120 seats to continue ruling. He currently rules with a slight plurality.  If Shas, with its 12 seats, bolts the government, Olmert would be forced ...   more »