Saudi calls for talks to end Palestinian bloodshed (Reuters)

[Eugene]

Saudi calls for talks to end Palestinian bloodshed

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

54 minutes ago

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen shot dead a member of a Hamas police force
and a senior Fatah intelligence official was abducted in Gaza on Sunday as Saudi
Arabia called for talks to end the spiralling violence.

-snip-

The shooting raised to 23 the death toll from three days of fierce clashes which
have derailed unity talks between Fatah and Hamas and prompted Saudi Arabia's King
Abdullah to invite both factions to talks in the holy city of Mecca.

"I invite them all ... for an urgent meeting in brotherly Saudi Arabia at the sacred
house of God to discuss disputes in a neutral (environment) without intervention from
any other side," King Abdullah said in an open letter.

The Hamas-led government, which defeated the once dominant Fatah in elections a year
ago, said it accepted the king's invitation.

A senior Fatah official said the group welcomed the invitation and was ready to
participate in the talks.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070128/wl_nm/palestinians_dc_15

Also: Hamas-Fatah violence continues; 25 dead - AP

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. No shit.

You mean, once the Americans stop being tools of our allies in that region, that they might even find a diplomatic solution to their problems?

Who knew?

[msmcghee]

3. The world has been waiting for Arab leadership . .

. . in this region for decades.

It's refreshing to see an Arab state do something other than add to the problems of the ME for calculated political and personal gain.

If they'd done something like this in 1947 it would be difficult to overestimate the success that the ME would probably be enjoying today with several free (and very wealthy) nations living in peace with each other and the world.

Go Sa'udis. :thumbsup:

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Peace may not be profitable, but atleast, the rich powerbrokers of

the globe may have figured out that the well is dry.

[Eugene]

2. Palestinian Abbas forces amassing arms -sources (Reuters)

Palestinian Abbas forces amassing arms -sources
28 Jan 2007 16:14:07 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Adam Entous and Haitham Tamimi

JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security advisers
have been amassing weapons in Gaza and the West Bank to build up a wider range of
forces than just the presidential guard, Palestinian security sources said.

The sources said several thousand assault rifles and other weapons have been set aside
in storehouses for members of Preventive Security and other services that are dominated
by Abbas's Fatah faction and are locked in an increasingly violent power struggle with
the ruling Hamas movement.

Previous arms shipments were earmarked solely for Abbas's presidential guard with U.S.
and Israeli backing. Up to $170 million, including U.S. funds and Palestinian tax revenues
released by Israel, will provide training, equipment and other support to the guard,
according to U.S. and Israeli officials.

Palestinian sources did not disclose the source of the weapons or when they arrived in
the Palestinian territories.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2827567.htm