Ehud Barak, Promised to hand over more territory to Palestinians
The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, on a visit to Cairo, has promised to hand over another piece of territory to the Palestinians within the next 10 days, in line with a deal struck in Egypt last year. However while renewing Israel's commitment to the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement he did not indicate which parcel of land would be handed over. Under the agreement, which they signed at the end of last year, both sides have just over two weeks to draw up a framework agreement. Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams today began intensive talks in an attempt to secure agreement on a permanent peace accord in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of Israel's allied militia, the South Lebanon Army has been blown up in an attack in a south Lebanese village. Colonel Akel Hashem was killed when a bomb exploded at his home late last night in the western sector of Israel's "security zone" in south Lebanon. The fundamentalist Shiite movement Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the attack.
