In Israel and the Occupied Territories, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected calls to ease the stranglehold on the Gaza Strip and negotiate with Hamas. On Wednesday, Olmert said he is prepared to allow a limited number of humanitarian shipments, but nothing more. Israel has been accused of practicing collective punishment in Gaza. Meanwhile, Olmert also suggested a renewed military confrontation with Hamas could lie ahead.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: “Hamas is an obstacle. It is not an insurmountable obstacle. It can be overcome. When and how is a different question. I don’t think that I want to go into details here, but I say and I want to repeat what I said before: we are not talking with Hamas, and we are not going to compromise with someone that is consistently shooting rockets on the heads of Israelis. We will deal with Hamas in other ways, and these ways will be very painful.”

Israel has rejected Hamas offers for a ceasefire based on an Israeli withdrawal to its 1967 borders.