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| By israelinsider staff December 24, 2006 |
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The 50th and 51st Qassam rockets since the ceasefire began exploded on Israeli soil Sunday morning.
The attack woke up terrorized residents of the southern Israeli town Sderot as alert sirens were raised.
Despite the continuing attacks on Israeli civilian populations, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in which he pledged to release $100 million in tax returns to the Palestinians and ease travel restrictions from terrorist-riddled Judea and Samaria (West Bank).
Although Abbas has pledged to halt the rocket attacks, which have not stopped during the month-old ceasefire and constitute a breach of international law, the Palestinian leader has not taken visible action to address the issue.
The recent meeting between the two leaders also made no progress on the fate of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is being held by Palestinian elements.
Following the meeting, Olmert has come under fire from both sides of the Israeli political spectrum. The left is calling Saturday's meeting a diluted attempt at diplomacy while the right sees Olmert's tete-a-tete and promise to release Palestinian funds as rewarding the Qassam attacks and continued aggression.
"While the ceasefire is not being kept and Gilad Shalit has not come home, Olmert is awarding prize money to Abbas for not adhering to the agreement," Ephraim Eitan, a member of the National Religious party and a brigadier general, told the Hebrew daily Maariv.
Reports say that Olmert also included promises to supply weapons and permissions to allow more Fatah soldiers into the Gaza Strip from Jordan, a move that is being eyed suspiciously by many analysts.
Despite the number of concessions made by Olmert, President Abbas did not make any concrete guarantees or concessions in reciprocation. |
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