PM invites Abbas to visit his Negev ranch

Prime Minister Sharon on Tuesday invited Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to visit his ranch in the Negev desert, an offer which the Palestinian leader accepted. The prime minister also said he would be willing to visit the PA leader in Ramallah. The invitation came during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordanian King Abdullah, and attended by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Both leaders announced an agreement to end more than four years of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians. Echoing the words of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas moments before, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday "Today, in my meeting with Chairman Abbas, we agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere, and, at the same time, Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians everywhere," Sharon said at the close of a day-long summit in the Red Sea resort town.

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Deal to end Palestinian uprising

Israel and the Palestinians are to announce a deal to end more than four years of bloody intifada, which has claimed over 4,500 lives, with ceasefire declarations today.

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Deja Vu or Not part I

The flags of Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt are very familiar with the routine. Once every few months or years, when a historic event is held at Sharm el-Sheikh, they are pulled out of old boxes and hung for several hours on metal poles to mark the convening of another summit. When the meeting ends, they are folded up again and smeared with another layer of cynicism that preserves them well - until the next event.

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No border between Yesha and the IDF
By Gideon Levy

The Israel Defense Forces must disengage from the settlers now. This process of disengagement will be difficult - the IDF is deeply invested in the settlement enterprise - but it is obligated by reality. Even before a single settler family is evacuated, the army must untie its Gordian knot with the settlers, which has bound it for many years. The time has come for it to again be the Israel Defense Forces, as intended, rather than the Settler Defense Forces, as it has been throughout the long years of occupation.

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