RUSSIA CLAIMS ARTIC

Millions flee worst ever floods
Millions affected in South Asia by what U.N. calls worst floods in memory
Officials say more than 1,000 killed or injured.India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal all hit by rising waters

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Monsoon rains in South Asia have driven millions from their homes and caused what the United Nations says is the worst flooding in living memory.A villager transports his mother to safety on a raft through floodwaters on Thursday near the Kaziranga National park in India. More than 1,000 people have been killed or injured by rising waters, but aid agencies say the figure is expected to rise sharply.U.N. children's body UNICEF said it had lost track of how many people had been affected by the floods across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

So far about 20 million people are known to have fled their homes or trapped in villages at risk from landslides, snakebites and disease.Hundreds of thousands have lost their homes, their possessions, livestock and fields and will have to begin their lives from scratch when flood waters recede, UNICEF said.The devastation comes on the heels of severe flooding in southern Pakistan, caused when Cyclone Yemyin struck the country's provinces of Balochistan and Sindh in late June.India appears to have been hardest hit by the latest inundations with floodwaters striking the densely-populated and poor states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

According to government estimates, the cumulative number of human casualties stands at 1,103 in 138 affected districts and more than 112,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed though these figures are set to rise as the situation unfolds, UNICEF said. It was not clear whether the casualty figure includes injured as well as dead.
Authorities in Bihar say at least 30 people have died amid the rains and flooding.
Nearly 180 relief camps have been set up in different parts of the state. Army helicopters will be pressed into service to distribute food packets from Saturday in some parts of the state, says Manoj Srivastava, the state's Disaster Committee chairman.Bihar state governor, R. S. Gavai, has appealed for political parties to work together to aid flood victims.

Up to 500,000 people are believed to have been affected by floods in India's northeastern Assam, the state's Water Resources Minister, Bharat Chandra Narah, told the CNN.Nineteen people have been confirmed dead. Relief materials are being distributed in certain areas in the state. Nearly 500 relief camps have been set up, Narah said.

All but two of the state's 27 districts have been affected and vast areas of land, including many farms, are under water, Narah said. Assam's Brahmaputra river was flowing above the danger mark in some areas.Rains have also affected major cities of Mumbai and the Indian capital of New Delhi.In Nepal, 84 people have been killed by flooding and landslides, and more than 9,700 families have been displaced with 270,000 people in 32 districts affected in the last two weeks, UNICEF said,Dharmaraju Kakani, a senior official for UK charity Oxfam, said at least 28 out of 75 districts in the country have been affected.At least 96 people have died so far in flooding in Nepal and nearly two hundred thousand others have been affected, Kakani told the CNN. Landslides are also affecting relief operations in some areas.

In low-lying Bangladesh, the government says relief efforts are going on to help millions affected by floods.The government along with the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are undertaking relief operations and trying to help people, a senior Foreign Ministry official, Nazmul Kawnain told the CNN.UNICEF said there are fears that the eastern side of the capital of Dhaka could be inundated in the next few days as waters make their way towards the lowlands.Access for rescuers will be difficult because rising waters continue to inundate flooded terrain, UNICEF said.

Russians plant flag to claim Arctic seabed AUG 3,07

Russian TV shows the mini submarine being lowered into the Arctic Ocean to plant a teflon flag more than three kilometres below the North Pole.August 3, 2007 - 4:03PM
Russian explorers dived deep below the North Pole today and planted their national flag on the seabed to stake a symbolic claim to the energy riches of the Arctic.
A mechanical arm dropped a specially made, rust-proof titanium flag painted with the Russian tricolour on the Arctic seabed at a depth of 4261 metres (13,980 ft).It was so lovely down there, Itar-Tass news agency quoted expedition leader Artur Chilingarov as saying as he emerged from one of two submersibles that made the dive.
If a hundred or a thousand years from now someone goes down to where we were, they will see the Russian flag, said Chilingarov, 67, a top pro-Kremlin member of parliament.

Russia wants to extend right up to the North Pole the territory it controls in the Arctic, believed to hold vast reserves of untapped oil and natural gas, which is expected to become more accessible as climate change melts the ice.President Vladimir Putin congratulated the expedition by telephone on the outstanding scientific project, local agencies reported.Boris Gryzlov, who heads the State Duma lower chamber of parliament and the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, hailed the expedition as a new stage of developing Russia's polar riches.This is fully in line with Russia's strategic interests, local media quoted him as saying. I am proud our country remains the leader in conquering the Arctic.Earlier on Thursday Canada mocked Russia's ambitions and said the expedition was nothing more than a show.

This isn't the 15th century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say We're claiming this territory', Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay told CTV television.Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- have a 320 km economic zone around the north of their coastline.Russia is claiming a larger slice extending as far as the pole because, Moscow says, the Arctic seabed and Siberia are linked by one continental shelf.Then Russia can give foundation to its claim to more than a million square kilometres of the oceanic shelf, said a newsreader for Russia's state news channel Vesti-24, which made the expedition its top news story.

Could raise tension

Russian media have said the move could raise tension with the United States in a battle for Arctic gas, while Washington made clear it did not consider the flag-planting to be a legitimate claim to territory.I'm not sure of whether they've put a metal flag, a rubber flag or a bed sheet on the ocean floor. Either way, it doesn't have any legal standing or effect on this claim," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.A Tass reporter on board the mission support ship said crew members cheered as Chilingarov climbed out of the submersible and was handed a pair of slippers.This may sound grandiloquent but for me this is like placing a flag on the moon, this is really a massive scientific achievement, Sergei Balyasnikov, spokesman for Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Institute, told Reuters.Russia says the mission is intended to show that the Lomonosov ridge, a 1,800 km underwater mountain range that extends under the Arctic to near the pole, is a geological extension of Russian territory. It denied it was a land grab.The aim of this expedition is not to stake Russia's claim but to show that our shelf reaches to the North Pole, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Manila, where he is attending a regional security conference.

The Mir-1 submersible reached the seabed at 1208 Moscow time (0808 GMT) and returned to the surface exactly six hours later.A second Russian submersible, manned by Swedish businessman Frederik Paulsen and Australian adventurer Mike McDowell, reached the seabed 27 minutes later. It reached a depth of 4,302 metres.Soviet and U.S. nuclear submarines have often travelled under the polar icecap, but until Thursday none had reached the seabed under the pole.I'm not sure of whether they've put a metal flag, a rubber flag or a bed sheet on the ocean floor. Either way, it doesn't have any legal standing or effect on this claim," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.A Tass reporter on board the mission support ship said crew members cheered as Chilingarov climbed out of the submersible and was handed a pair of slippers.This may sound grandiloquent but for me this is like placing a flag on the moon, this is really a massive scientific achievement, Sergei Balyasnikov, spokesman for Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Institute, told Reuters.

Russia says the mission is intended to show that the Lomonosov ridge, a 1,800 km underwater mountain range that extends under the Arctic to near the pole, is a geological extension of Russian territory. It denied it was a land grab.The aim of this expedition is not to stake Russia's claim but to show that our shelf reaches to the North Pole, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Manila, where he is attending a regional security conference.The Mir-1 submersible reached the seabed at 1208 Moscow time (0808 GMT) and returned to the surface exactly six hours later.

A second Russian submersible, manned by Swedish businessman Frederik Paulsen and Australian adventurer Mike McDowell, reached the seabed 27 minutes later. It reached a depth of 4,302 metres.Soviet and U.S. nuclear submarines have often travelled under the polar icecap, but until Thursday none had reached the seabed under the pole.REUTERS

David's Comment: Is It Time For Israel to Make Another Pre-Emptive Strike?
AUG 3,07

As I have previously reported, this is the 40th year since the world changing Six Day War. Yes - world changing. In his highly rated book Six Days of War, author Michael Oren stated that although the war lasted on 6 tense days back in 1967, in reality it has been going on ever since, and that the majority of terror events in the Middle East and around the world, are a consequence of the outcome of the Six Day War. This war began with a pre-emptive strike on the Egyptian Air Force by the Israeli Air Force. Catching the Egyptians off guard, the Israeli pilots destroyed most of the Egyptian aircraft, thus inflicting an embarrassing defeat on Egypt and the Arab world. Of course this pre-emptive action by Israel started the war, with Jordan and Syria quickly entering the conflict as they came to the aid of Egypt.

Obviously God was in the Israeli decision and He went on to supernaturally enable the tiny nation of Israel to defeat the 3 large Arab armies and airforces. The primary reason that then Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol ordered the Israeli Air Force into action, was that Egyptian radio stations had been broadcasting speeches by President Nassar calling for Israel's destruction. Israeli reconnaissance aircraft spotted greatly increased military activity in Egypt, Syria and Jordan, and the defense leadership of those 3 enemy nations were meeting together to discuss the Israel problem.

Forty years on exactly the an almost identical scenario is taking place. Iran's Armadinejhad is calling for Israel's destruction. Hizb'Allah in the north and Hams in the south, are armed to an unprecedented level. Syria is also involved in inceased military activity on the Golan border and the leadership of Hizb'Allah, Syria and Iran are meeting together ( Hamas & Al Qaida are probably also involved ) to strategise and make their plans for a war with Israel. At this time Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt, but history is full of accounts of broken treaties. This Israel / Egypt peace can be at best called a cool peace, and to make it worse the USA has been arming Egypt for years.

Almost daily the news media carries reports of the preparations and incitement by Syria and Iran. As I see from the lessons of history, there is only one option for the Israeli government and defense forces to ensure the well being of the Jewish state - that is to follow the example of Levi Eshkol and Moshe Dayan, and to launch a pre-emptive strike. That may not sound like a very godly statement to make, but it is Biblical. Many times in the Bible, God instructed the armies of Israel to strike the enemy before the enemy struck them.

If Israel's enemies dream of the next war in which they will be victorious, I say let them have it now. Only thing is they will not be victorious, as Israel has an invinceable secret weapon - the God of Israel. The longer Israel waits, the more people will suffer, on both sides. If Iran reaches a nuclear capability and attacks Israel, then Israel will have to retaliate in kind. Multitudes would be killed and injured on both sides. If Syria attacks Israel using their combat ready chemical and biological weapons, then Israel will have to nuke Damascus to put an immediate stop to the war. Again multitudes on both sides would die or suffer terribly.

The only way to stop this future holocaust is too destroy their capability of making war against Israel, NOW ! I may sound like a war-monger, but I am not. I hate the very thought of war, anywhere, but we must be realistic. Israel's enemies mean business - they mean what they say. They always have. Their hatred is fueled by their adherence to Islam, the religion of hate and violence. One of YHVH's spiritual laws of the universe is he who loves by the sword will die by the sword. Israel's neighbors have chosen to live by the sword, so by the sword they will suffer the fate that is set before them.

And its not just Israel that needs to act pre-emptively now. Every western nation is under threat by Islam. Mohammed's instruction to bring the whole world under submission to Allah is still very much alive. Those who refuse are not considered worthy enough to live. Israel and any other country that has the guts to take on the Islamic threat needs to do it NOW.The only other possibility is that we all pray as never before for the lies of Islam to be revealed to the Muslim world, and that millions of Muslims will come to faith in Yeshua the Messiah of the sons of Jacob, Messiah of the the sons of Ishmael and Messiah of the nations.

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel . Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF.

Shabbat Shalom .. . David & Josie

This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
August 2, 2007

Dear Friend of The Fellowship,

Since the birth of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the country has been blessed with a historic return of two-and-a-half million Jews from around the globe. This incredible ingathering, the realization of the prophet Jeremiah’s vision that Your children shall return to their own land, has offered physical and spiritual freedom to Jews suffering from poverty and persecution.

One of the most amazing stories of prophetic return involves the Jews of Ethiopia. These exiled children of Israel, descendents of one of Israel’s lost tribes, the tribe of Dan, longed for generations to return to their biblical homeland. Yet, during the last century the possibility of their ever making this trip seemed remote. In the 1970s, brutal civil wars and the rise to power of a Communist dictatorship led to oppressive conditions in Ethiopia. Jews were forbidden to practice their religion, and those trying to escape to neighboring countries were captured and imprisoned by the government.

Thankfully, the oppressive regime finally fell. Since then, with the help of The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program, thousands of these desperate Ethiopian Jews have made aliyah (immigrated to Israel), in fulfillment of the biblical prophecy that promises the return of Jewish exiles from the four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:12). Once in Israel, Wings provides them with klitah (resettlement) assistance that helps them get established in their new homes.

But, though thousands have returned, thousands more wait in squalid refugee camps for their opportunity to return to Israel. Some have waited for years, and seen their closest relatives make aliyah. But they must remain, because there is simply not enough money for them to make the trip.This period of waiting can be life-threatening. Disease is rampant in Ethiopia, and conditions in the camps can be unsanitary and unsafe. Often, children and the elderly get sick and die. It’s especially heartbreaking to think how easily some of their diseases could be treated in Israel, which boasts some of the best medical care in the world.The time to act to bring these people home is now. Lives are in danger, and the political situation in this part of the world is extremely volatile. There is no time to waste.

Today I want to offer you the chance to view online our new television program that calls attention to the plight of these desperate people. It is one thing to read someone’s story, and another to look him in the eye. As you view this video, I think you will see reflected in the eyes of these Ethiopian Jews the same thing I did when I visited them a desperate longing to return to Israel, and a hope that someone will hear their cries for help.Thank you for your support of our work, and your compassion toward these people who have suffered so greatly. May God bless you even as you have blessed his children, Israel.


With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS

What is the basis for Kosher dietary laws? RABBI ECKSTEIN AUG 3,07

Frequently I’m asked why some observant Jews keep kosher -- that is, observe kosher dietary laws. In fact, there is a biblical basis for many of these dietary laws. The term kosher, meaning fit or proper, is used by the Bible on three occasions. Surprisingly, none of the biblical references are to food. Today, however, the word kosher describes foods that are tahor, or ritually pure, which are permissible for Jews to eat according to Jewish law.

Jewish dietary laws are derived a mainly from passages in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. First, all produce from the ground, i.e. fruits and vegetables, are permitted and may be eaten with either dairy or meat products. Regarding fish, only those varieties with fins and scales, such as tuna, salmon, bass, trout, sole, etc., may be eaten. All seafood and shellfish such as lobster, oyster, and shrimp are prohibited by Leviticus 11:9-13. The Bible does not categorize birds by their features as it does for fish and animals. Instead it lists specific birds that may not be eaten. Fowl that are permitted include chicken, turkey, duck, geese (though not wild geese) and doves. Although the Bible does not state this directly, most birds that may not be eaten are wild birds of prey, such as the eagle, stork, owl and vulture.

Finally, the Bible gives instructions on mammals. According to Deuteronomy 14, animals that walk on four legs, chew their cud, and have split hooves are permitted, such as cattle, sheep, goats and deer. Those that do not have these three characteristics, such as horses, donkeys, camels, and pigs, are prohibited.

Although the kosher dietary rules are derived from Scripture, many other types of laws come from rabbinic interpretation of Scripture. For example, even kosher animals, such as cows and chickens, must be slaughtered and prepared according to Jewish law or they are regarded as impure and may not be eaten. We separate meat and dairy foods (and even meat and dairy dishes), to comply with the rabbinic interpretation of the biblical command, Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk (Exodus 23:19). Many additional Kosher laws, too numerous to mention here, have been added over the centuries.

Because of such rules, observant Jews buy their meat only from kosher butcher shops that are under special rabbinic supervision, not from regular stores. Today, many food companies stamp a product with a special symbol or the letter K (for Kosher) to certify it is kosher. This assures observant Jews that the product and its preparation are under rabbinic supervision. Companies may also stamp a product with the letter P for parveh. This letter indicates the item contains no milk or milk by-products and therefore can be eaten after or together with meat.

At first, it may seem strange that many Jews continue to follow these dietary rules. But the kosher dietary laws are linked with the obligation upon Israel to be a holy people. Scripture declares, Therefore be holy, because I am holy. These are the regulations … You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten” (Leviticus 11:45-47) The Bible, in other words, links the observance of the dietary rules with Israel's duty to be holy. The kosher laws set Jews apart from all others and help shape them into a distinctive, holy people, providing them with a way of sanctifying the routine, mundane act of preparing food and eating.

EU border agency under pressure to restart patrol mission
03.08.2007 - 09:29 CET | By Helena Spongenberg

The EU border control agency, Frontex, has come under pressure to continue the bloc's southern border control mission aimed at limiting illegal immigration into the 27-member union.French centre-right MEP Joseph Daul appealed to EU justice and home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini to push for a restart, as soon as possible, of the so-called Nautilus II patrols off the Maltese coast.The month-long Nautilus II, the second patrol mission held in the waters between Sicily, Malta and Libya under coordination of the EU's border control agency Frontex, paused last week due to lack of resources, according to the European Commission.

In a letter to Mr Frattini on 1 August, Mr Daul said: I am sure that your intervention will have a decisive impact on the resumption of the Frontex mission in the Mediterranean area.It appears that the mission has been effective in reducing the number of arrivals to Malta, when one compares the number to the arrivals in the same period last month - 50% less, said Mr Daul.But if reductions in numbers were indeed due to the effectiveness of the mission, then it is clear that it does not make any sense at all to stop them in peak season, during the crucial summer months of August and September, he stated.Last week, Maltese justice and home affairs minister Tonio Borg also called upon Frontex to relaunch its sea-border patrol mission.

We of course hope that the Nautilus operation can resume as soon as possible, Mr Frattini's spokesman, Friso Roscam Abbing, told journalists in Brussels on Thursday (2 August).We have seen that the first phase of this operation has worked quite well…discouraging dangerous illegal clandestine immigration. So it is clear that it is an important element of our comprehensive immigration policy, he said.Mr Abbing added that despite the very good start of the mission more needed to be done and he hoped EU member states which in February committed to support the mission with medical staff, ships, helicopters and other useful equipment for the sea-border controls, would fully live up to that commitment.We will do everything we can so that as of next year, the EU will have permanent missions in the high risk areas such as the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, he added.Each year, around half a million illegal immigrants arrive in the EU.

Deer gets back to roots
By Phyllis Noah/The Ironton Tribune
August 3, 2007 10:43 AM CDT

IRONTON — A prayer shawl from Israel hangs on the back wall of the Church of the King chapel in Ironton — perhaps as a reminder of the Bible’s Jewish roots.Learning to speak the Hebrew language may be an anomaly to some, but to Butch Deer Jr., pastor at Church of the King, it helps him to have a better understanding of the Bible. A long thin piece of fringe on each side of the shawl, the tzitiz, represents the 613 laws that are found in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.We’re not trying to be Jewish, we just want to learn the richness of our heritage, Deer said. Studying the Jewish roots will do that. It will enhance and enrich your relationship with God.So, traveling more than 6,000 miles to learn the Hebrew language was not only a learning experience, but also an opportunity to see the sites where Jesus walked.

Our Bible was written in Hebrew, he said. A lot of times in the translation, we miss a word. For instance, in English, a word generally has one definition, but in Hebrew, it may have multiple definitions and used in different ways.On June 16, Deer went to a six-week class in the Hebrew language staying at kibbutz Tzuba in Israel.
It’s equivalent of a year-long college course crammed into six weeks, Deer said.
Although his classes were until noon, he had four hours of homework every day. In between, he visited all the sites he could by going into Jerusalem three times a week.The kibbutz was established in 1948 after their war of independence, he said. All the money goes into a pot. Everybody has a job. They have vineyards, orchards — it’s really neat to see how it operates.

About 150 people lived in the kibbutz Tzuba, he said. His classmates were not only from the United States, but also from other countries in Europe and Australia.There are lots of things we miss by not studying Jewish roots, Deer said.The site he enjoyed the most when he was in Israel was at the Hulda Gate, he said.It’s where the majority of people would have entered the temple Mount Ararat during Jesus time, Deer said. It was on these Hulda steps where Jesus would have stood during the dedication where the priests would pour out water and say, This is living water. It’s on these Hulda steps where Jesus would have stood and said, I am the living water.Standing at the eastern gate or the Golden Gate in Jerusalem in the middle of an Arab cemetery, he could see the Mount of Olives, he said.

The Golden Gate is on the eastern wall of Jerusalem and below the Temple Mount. It faces the western slope of the Mount of Olives across the Kidron Valley. In the valley below is the road to Jericho and Bethany, the Garden of Gethsemane and several famous first-century tombs.Of course, according to the prophecies of Zachariah, when He returns, he’ll step down on the Mount of Olives, Deer said. Those were places that were really special. My best experience was just riding the bus like the Jewish people do, and the Arabic people do, go into the city of Jerusalem, go to Ben Yehuda Street, eat a swarma.

Millionaire urges unity in EU referendum fight
By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter, Sunday Telegraph
12:51am BST 05/08/2007

Join the Telegraph campaign for an EU referendum

A multi-millionaire businessman has issued a rallying call for members of all parties to unite in a campaign to force Gordon Brown to hold a referendum over the new European Union treaty.Paul Sykes said that the British people had just 12 weeks to stop Britain becoming part of a new country called the European Union.Mr Sykes, a self-made man, philanthropist and eurosceptic, said: Time is not on our side. If we fail to come together, we will have failed those who look to us for a lead in restoring democracy, we will have failed our fellow countrymen and women, and we will have failed our country.

He believes that Mr Brown, like Tony Blair, has reneged on a Labour Party election pledge from 2005 to hold a referendum on the EU treaty. Mr Sykes is a founder member and substantial financial backer of Speakout, a non-party-political group which campaigns for repatriation of powers and a referendum on the EU treaty.Sources close to Mr Sykes say he has spent more than £5 million in the past decade supporting various anti-EU causes.Mr Sykes said: Back in the Nineties most of the various anti-EU groups united to form a common front against a common enemy - the single currency. The campaign was deliberately non-party-political, it used some of the biggest names in showbusiness to get the message across to the public and it forced the issue to the top of the media agenda.It is time, once more, to form a common front for the various lobby groups, think-tanks and campaigning organisations that give diversity and strength to the eurosceptic movement to combine their energies into a single campaign.

Mr Sykes wants all eurosceptic groups, including Open Europe, an independent think tank, to join with politicians from all parties and captains of industry. We need to put our petty divisions to one side and to put the great theological debates on hold. What unites us is much, much more than that which divides us, he said.Gisela Stuart, the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, issued a fierce attack last week in The Sunday Telegraph on her party's rubbish handling of the issue. Up to 40 Labour MPs are pushing for a referendum.Mr Sykes, 63, criticised the new Prime Minister. The hope had been that Gordon Brown would be a very different kind of leader to his predecessor, that he would listen to the people and honour his party's election manifesto pledge which stated quite clearly that any new 'EU constitution' would be put to the voters in the form of a referendum. But Gordon has not listened.The Labour leadership claims that concessions in the new treaty mean that a referendum is no longer necessary.

Olmert and Abbas to discuss Palestinian state By Adam Entous
Sat Aug 4, 4:23 PM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expects to discuss key issues for creating a Palestinian state with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a meeting in the West Bank on Monday, Abbas's top aides said on Saturday. The United States is pressing the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to find common ground on some of these issues within four months, in time for a Middle East conference proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush, officials said.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier this week that Olmert had agreed to begin talks with Abbas on fundamental issues.But U.S. officials would not say whether this meant that the two leaders would discuss the most contentious final-status questions of borders, the future of Jerusalem and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.Abbas aide Nabil Amr confirmed that Olmert and Abbas will meet in the West Bank city of Jericho on Monday. It will be their first bilateral meeting in the occupied West Bank.

Amr said the meeting would allow Abbas and Olmert to discuss political issues central to the conflict, including so-called final status issues for the creation of a Palestinian state.Abbas adviser Yasser Abed Rabbo said the meeting would address final status issues to create momentum before the international conference.Olmert's office declined to comment on the agenda for the talks with Abbas, whose Fatah faction was routed in June in fighting in the Gaza Strip by Hamas Islamists who seized the territory.But Israeli officials said Olmert was prepared to discuss fundamental issues with Abbas and restated a goal of reaching an agreement on principles in advance of the international conference expected by the end of the year.These principles, the Israeli officials said, would broadly call for Israel to withdraw from about 90 percent of Palestinian territory but would not identify specific Jewish settlements in the West Bank that would be uprooted.

EXPLOSIVE ISSUES

Olmert and Abbas would also discuss explosive issues like the fate of Palestinian refugees, with the goal of reaching common ground on such things as compensation, the officials said.Israel, citing demographic and security concerns, rejects an influx of Palestinians to homes now in the Jewish state.The Israeli officials said they believed it would be easier to sell an agreement that is broad brush to the Israeli and Palestinian public than one that included specific details.Olmert, the officials said, was reluctant to commit to any specific timetables for the negotiations and implementation.

It is unclear whether Olmert, whose popularity plummeted after last year's inconclusive war in Lebanon, can make major concessions. It is also uncertain how Abbas can deliver on any deal with Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip.A Western official in the region said Washington wanted talks between Olmert and Abbas to become deeper and more energetic over the next period leading up to the international meeting in the fall.Saudi Arabia, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, signaled earlier this week it intended to attend the conference if substantive issues were addressed. (Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)