World reaction to Hussein's death mixed, Several European leaders joined the Vatican in condemning the execution of Saddam Hussein on Saturday, while other countries said it was an internal Iraqi matter.Saddam was hanged around 6 a.m. local time Saturday in Baghdad, according to Iraqi state television.

The execution punishes "a crime with another crime," said Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI's top prelate for justice issues, in an interview published Friday with the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.

"The death penalty is not a natural death. And no one can give death, not even the state," Martino was quoted as saying.

Britain, a staunch U.S. ally in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, reiterated its opposition to the death penalty, but said the sentence rested on Iraqi shoulders.

"We oppose the death penalty in all cases, regardless of the individual or the crime," said Rob Tinline, spokesman for the British Foreign Office. "[But] it's an Iraqi trial, with Iraqi defendants, in an Iraqi court — it's a decision for the Iraqi authorities."

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said he didn't believe the execution would help bring peace to Iraq, adding it would carry "more negative consequences than positive ones."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said every dictator must answer for his actions — to a point.

"I will never defend the death penalty, not even for the worst politician," he said.

A matter for Iraqis to decide

Thomas Steg, spokesman for the German government, said Germany rejects the death penalty, but understands it is allowed under Iraqi law.

"There is no indication that these court proceedings in Iraq, including the appeals process, were not conducted in accordance with the legal principles there," he said.

U.S. President George W. Bush released a statement late Friday night, saying the execution comes "at the end of a difficult year" for the Iraqi people and for U.S. troops.

"Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said due process in accordance with Iraqi law was followed leading up to the execution.

"And I believe there's something quite heroic about a country that's going through the pain and suffering that Iraq is going through, it still extends due process to somebody who was a tyrant and a brutal suppressor and murderer of his people."

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who opposed the invasion of Iraq, said Saddam's execution will not increase the moral authority of the United States in the world.

"Saddam's heinous crimes against humanity can never be diminished, but he was our ally while he was doing it," he said Friday. "Saddam as a war trophy only deepens the catastrophe to which we are indelibly linked."

Among Arab leaders, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi reacted to news of Saddam's hanging by declaring a three-day official period of mourning. Gadhafi had called the trial illegal.

On Friday, the Libyan and Yemeni governments made 11th-hour appeals to spare Saddam's life.

Israel Confirms Arms Shipment Sent to Aid Abbas,After coordination with Israel and the United States, Egypt has sent a shipment of weapons and ammunition into the Gaza Strip to forces loyal to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, Israeli officials said today.

Senior Palestinian officials denied the report, including the spokesman for Mr. Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, calling the story “Israeli propaganda aimed at aggravating the situation between Fatah and Hamas.”

But Israeli officials confirmed a report in the Haaretz newspaper that the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, approved the shipment in his meeting Saturday evening with Mr. Abbas. Four trucks with some 2,000 automatic rifles, 20,000 ammo clips and some 2 million bullets passed from Egypt through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, where Gaza, Israel and Egypt meet. The shipment was turned over to Mr. Abbas’s Presidential Guard at the Karni crossing between Gaza and Israel.

Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, an Israeli cabinet minister and former defense minister, appeared to confirm the transfer to Israeli Army Radio, saying that the weapons are intended to give Mr. Abbas “the capability to hold his own against those organizations that are trying to spoil everything.” That was an apparent reference to Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and rejects previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements that call for a permanent two-state solution.

American officials were circumspect, but said that various efforts to boost Mr. Abbas’s forces were taking place. They included training of the Presidential Guard and the likely return to the Palestinian territories of a thousand or so well-trained but aging Fatah fighters, the Badr Brigade of the Palestine Liberation Organization, who are currently living in Jordan.

The Bush administration is seeking congressional support for up to $100 million in funds, mostly for salaries and training, to bolster Mr. Abbas and his security forces and extend their control over the Gaza crossing points.

A senior American official insisted that the aim was not to promote civil war with the ruling Hamas faction, but to help Mr. Abbas and Fatah and “to provide deterrence and balance” in Gaza, where Hamas is especially strong.

The arms shipment is part of a broader American and Israeli effort, in coordination with moderate Arab states like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, to strengthen Mr. Abbas, weaken Hamas and show some movement on the stalled issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace. At their meeting Saturday, Mr. Olmert also promised to eliminate some West Bank checkpoints and turn over to Mr. Abbas $100 million of the approximately $500 million in funds that the Israelis have collected for the Palestinians but refused to turn over since Hamas took power.

But officials involved consider their efforts something short of a plan, because Fatah remains weak, Mr. Abbas is considered unpredictable and too wedded to the Fatah old guard, and conditions are not ripe for a major attempt to reach a comprehensive settlement.

Still, the officials say, given the problems of the region — the American difficulties in Iraq; the growing influence of Iran; Israel’s summer war with the Iran- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and Hamas’s sway over Gaza — efforts are needed to alter the status quo and promote moderate Palestinian political goals.

“The most important thing for us is to get a process going between Abbas and the Israelis,” the American official said. “If the Palestinians end up with a consensus supporting Hamas, you push off any real peace process for a long, long time. If they opt for this kind of unity, fine, but then there is nothing we can do for them and there will be no Palestinian state, and it’s not a good outcome.”

Mr. Abbas has called for early presidential and parliamentary elections, which Hamas opposes. But the Americans were pleased by his call. They would have liked him to confront Hamas six months ago, the official said, but fear that if Mr. Abbas waited much longer, his position would be even weaker. “The longer that goes by, the harder it is for him,” the official said. “We’ve been trying to explain to him that every option is risky now, but that the status quo also has its downside. Doing nothing and getting weaker does not help.”

The Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, in essence has been suggesting talks with Mr. Abbas that result in a Palestinian state with temporary borders, with Israel pulling back in the West Bank to the current route of the separation barrier it is building there.

In an interview published in Haaretz’s upcoming weekend magazine, she talked gingerly about “a detailed operative plan” to negotiate with Mr. Abbas, ideas she has discussed with the United States secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and Abbas aides. “My vision says that the two nation-state principle is not only an Israeli gift to the Palestinians but advances Israeli interests,” she said.

Mr. Olmert does not like grandstanding by his cabinet ministers, and some aides were dismissive about the notion of a new plan. But her thesis — largely shared by Mr. Olmert, too — is that Israel, the West and moderate Arab states want Mr. Abbas and Fatah, whatever their weaknesses, to win out over Hamas, said a Foreign Ministry official.

“So they should have guns, and resources for patronage, and there should be a political vision and framework for moving forward, so that if Palestinians do choose the right path, there is something real and tangible for those who believe in a two-state solution,” the official said.

In essence, Ms. Livni is suggesting talks with Mr. Abbas that result in a Palestinian state in temporary borders — effectively the second stage of the moribund road map peace plan — with Israel pulling back in the West Bank to the current route of the separation barrier.

Mr. Abbas has repeatedly rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in temporary borders, seeing it as a trap, because there would be no guarantee that Israel would move farther toward a final settlement.

“But it’s possible that now Palestinian moderates need some political ammunition to show people that negotiations will bear real and tangible results,” the Foreign Ministry official said. “We need to strengthen the political horizon that Palestinian moderates can offer.”

Then, he suggested, with such results in hand and a period of visible reform in Fatah, new elections could result in Hamas’s defeat, and then a stronger move to dismantle Palestinian terrorist organizations, as called for in the first stage of the road map, which did not foresee one of those organizations, Hamas, running the Palestinian Authority.

“There’s no perfect solution now, but how can we move in the right direction,” he asked, with a weak Israeli government, a weak Palestinian president and Hamas in power?

“Abbas has got a lot of work to do — in Fatah, in his own office, with the security forces,” the American official said. “We’ll continue to help,” he said, pointing to the likely visit next month by Ms. Rice. “But Abbas has to make some choices.”

Mr. Olmert is already facing criticism from his right for his concessions to Mr. Abbas, including the money and arms transfer, given the involvement of Fatah militants like the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in firing rockets into Israel. Israeli opinion, after the summer war and the Gaza rockets, is generally opposed to handing back large portions of the West Bank to the Palestinians.

My faith is perfect and others are not; we should find a more open way than this to discuss religious issues, right? A Muslim must believe that the Bible - was sent by God to his apostle Jesus, and that the Torah was sent by God, too, to his apostle Moses.. Let me first say that I am a Christian. This is not because my religion is Christianity . I would be glad to point you in the right direction. Michael D. Yaeger www.michaeldyaeger.com "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" - John 8:31,32

<><> I AGREE 10 MILLION percent with Islam being perfect, but not False Muslims The people fighting in the name of Islam for their countries are using Islam only as a Justification for their actions. If one person fights in the name of Christianity, which HAS happened before, does that make Christianity a radical religion. Is every christian seen as a radical terrorist. NO. Then why must it be this way with Muslims. Before assuming uneducatedly about Islam, you must understand the religion, do some research, not to say that the jews were the first nations in the holy land, there are so many different ethnicities and religions that origionated from there..... the point of this whole mess of a post is that the media uses ethnicity and religion to justify collective punishment and colonization. mainstream corporate media *IS* a propaganda viehical for colonization! question what you read about islam. i am not saying that it is a perfect religion, it is just as flawed as christianity or judaism or hiduism or rastafarianism.... just know what you see in the media is racist and imperialist for peace in the middle east,


<><> As a Real Muslim I condemn the barbaric act of killing the British hostage, Al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it was behind the killing of Egypt's top diplomat and two Algerian envoys this month.. I believe whoever did this is doing a grave mistake in assuming that the general Muslim public is going to applaud them for what they did. This is an act that is not Islamic in the purest meaning of the word.
I know you disagree with fighting in the cause of God against aggression but we Muslims believe we should obey our Creator who commanded us to fight those who invade our nations. This does not mean in anyway that injustice and aggression should be committed in His name and that what false Muslim is, "ISLAM IS PERFECT... FALSE MUSLIMS ARE NOT" .


<><> To be honest, all religions are evil. If God / Allah / Jesus or Mohammed were real living entities or spirits, what would they make of the world in which we live in, not to mention the other religions. People claim Christianity / Muslim etc are all things to do with peace and Harmony, yet through the ages, how many have died with these believes? Satan if he exists must be laughing in his boots, not that I think he exists either. We are who we make ourselves, good or bad, to have things forced into you at birth and not have a choice (as in some countries) of what to believe in, is evil in itself. I suppose I am lucky living in the UK, born and raised here, in that I do HAVE a choice of what to or what not to believe in, where as some countries you either believe or get persecuted, be it for religion a, b, c or none of them. Perhaps if everyone shared this view their would be no holy wars, no jihad and no forced worsip or be persecuted scenarios. Good and Evil is what we make of situations, of life and what we do with it, it is in the human spirit, it is not from religion a or religion b. Noone but noone will tell me otherwise, and I will remain atheist and suffer my fate as a human living with humans till I die, and probably suffer their religious squables till that day comes. Someone mentioned condemning 1 religion over the other, he or she should think long and hard and condemn them all, and the world will be a better place. And the title of this topic "Islam, is it really that peacefull?" think, is any religion really that peacefull? another sufferer from this religious and political nonsense. Let me meet those who commited this crime in person, and I will show them some none religious evil, along with those others who do such crimes and hide behind a religious setting. They can say they did it for religious purposes till their blue in the face (literally) and chocking on their own blood, as I do believe in what goes around comes around. It is this evil that we create ourselves.

<><> I consider Palestinians very tolerant Moslims in general. Diplomatically speaking they would fall on the last place on aggressiveness level worldwide. I, being a Futurist would probably fairly quickly take up all avaiable arms to deal with invaders untill sucesfull finish of the efforts. (DEFENCE IS LEGAL FIGHT !). Reality is, relations among people have worsened to that extent i consider myself under Futurism only one NOT directly involved into violence. All others have clearly contributed to the world of today, i will contribute to the world of tomorrow .

<><> The Christian church is responsible for much darkness in the world. I believe that many of its choices pave the way to Hell. ". May God have Mercy on our minds! 4:36 Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, o Christians all overhistory who live in Arab region or in Islamic countries had and still having equal treatment from Muslims and this is stated in our holy book "Quran" and if you look in Arab countries you will find Muslims living side to side with Christians and having no problems concerning their religions at all, living peacefully.

<><> Islam is a religion of peace that for surething, but there are some people who understand Islam in a wrong way and they act according to this misunderstand and I agree with you saying "ISLAM IS PERFECT... MUSLIMS ARE NOT", most of Muslims don't give enough respect to their religion and what are the results people from other places with also misunderstand Islam and wont know well about real Muslims "ISLAM IS PERFECT... FALSE MUSLIMS ARE NOT".

<><> islam is violence religion then what u call what isreal do every day in palestine killing 10.000.000 of inoccent kids is that peacefull??? or maybe u think wat happend to iraqi muslim is fair dont try to attack islam dont know a b it about it and u know well that media hide the crimes been done to muslims so learn more about it before u judge did you know that hinduism and islam are different religions? also did you ever consider why people HATE christians so much? maybe because the religion was pushed down people's throats with colonialism? i think it's really funny how the western media is all about the "them" and "us" syndrom; white v.s. brown, civilized v.s. barbarians, judiochristian v.s. islam/other...

<><> Today i was looking at our manufactured headlines. chechnian rebles are holding KIDS hostage, palestinians are blowing themselves up, and bush is fighting terrorism. hurrah! you really need to question what's NOT getting reported. why do people hate the west? why do people hate america? israel? christianity? one of the reasons i hate the news is that there is no historical context to it. i hear that things are pretty scared to say in chechnia....

<><> I was just in palestine and after going through roadblocks, checkpoints, walls, and being soundbombed every night by macho soliders looking for a good laugh, i can honestly understand why a palestinian would want to blow someone up. it is not islam that makes people kill, it is a lifetime of poverty, racism, and brutality that drives someone to these means. islam is just as violent as any other religion. personally my beef is with monotheism.

<><> I think it is the underlying evil of the world... the idea that there is only one god, one path, one way. monotheism needs to crumble with all of the walls, tear gas, barbed wire and tanks. we need a paradigm that recognizes that we are all one as humans, and stop fighting about who's right or wrong and what land belongs to who. unfortunately with the amount of stolen land and refugees we currently have the fighting will not be over until people wake up and see what our ancestors have done. yesterday i went out and bought an ipod. my friend just got kicked out of her house and doesn't have money for rent. who needed that money more? the kids starving in africa? or my ear drums? i am such a hypocrit in this whole mess, but all i can do is pour my heart out and search for truth.

HOW COULD BE THIS TRUE
<><> The aim of these operations for Islam Radical, Muslim Terrorism ., 9/11 , Bombings , False Flag , was to make a Fools of you in the name of Islam then was to polarize the public and convince them that they were faced with violence and death from political extremists, WHEN NECESSARY MANUFACTURING THE VIOLENCE AND DEATH THAT WAS NEEDED TO PUSH PUBLIC OPINION IN THE DESIRED DIRECTION.YOU HAVE BEEN USED & ABUSED MY BROTHER IN THE NAME OF ISLAMS, THEY USED YOU FOR PAY OR OTHER COUNTING ON THAT, The need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein ... Iran may well prove as large a threat to U.S. interests in the Gulf as Iraq has. And even should U.S.-Iranian relations improve, retaining forward-based forces in the region would still be an essential element in U.S. security strategy given the longstanding American interests in the region with Israel in the Envelop in surrounding cover too ,for Israel's strategic benefit! Thats what Israel does.
It has its intelligence organization, Mossad, carry out false flag operations and deceives others into attacking their country Israel enemies. In short they get others to fight their wars for them and more . ."


<><> There are precedents for this general kind of "false flag" provocation - there are even precedents specifically for the framing of Arabs for terrorist attacks against the United States that in fact were perpetrated by Zionist extremists with the aim of poisoning US relations with the Arab states. The Lavon Affair involved a series of bombings of American and British institutions in Egypt in 1954. These terrorist attacks were ordered by the head of Israeli intelligence with the aim of making it appear that they were perpetrated by Egyptian nationalists. The idea was to damage relations between Egypt and the US and Britain. [See for example, "Israel's Sacred Terrorism", Livia Rokach, Chapter 7: http://www.chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/essays/rokach.html].

<><> I want to emphasize that this has absolutely nothing to do with suppressing terrorism. In fact, this agenda will surely have exactly the opposite effect. In the lengthy and detailed document I have referenced you can search for the word "terrorism" and you will not find it at all. However if you search for the word "preeminence", as in "american preeminence", "geopolitical preeminence", "military preeminence" etc., you will find that word many times.

<><> The evidence presented here (and much more that has been omitted in the interest of keeping this short) strongly suggests that September 11 was just such an operation, mounted by a radical group within the Bush administration - an alliance of extreme militarists and fanatical Zionists who are gaining increasing influence in USA military and intelligence command structures.
While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein ... Iran may well prove as large a threat to U.S. interests in the Gulf as Iraq has. And even should U.S.-Iranian relations improve, retaining forward-based forces in the region would still be an essential element in U.S. security strategy given the longstanding American interests in the region."

<><> In considering this evidence it's important to recognize just how corrupt USA intelligence establishment has become. One huge scandal that has never been addressed is narcotics trafficking and money laundering by the CIA. Agency involvement in large scale heroin trafficking started in Laos during the Vietnam war. This has been known for decades; a good reference is Professor William Chambliss' presidential address to the American Society of Criminology in 1988:

Last But for last you are Islam regards all of humanity as one family as Allah SWT created mankind
to get to know each other, including the Chinese and their role in spreading Islam is no less than other races.
The only thing that separates one muslim from the other is their strength of faith (piety)
in god/Islam, In short, there should be NO descrimination or hate among muslims just because they are
of different race color or nationality, meaning, what It said is right!

<><> Tired of hearing the news reports of people saying that Islam is a peaceful religion but that is the Real Islam for Salaam when what I read and see contradicts that. Here are some of the few stories that happen every day, -In Nagpur, Hindus attacked saints gathered in a home and threatened to burn them. When police were called, they too threatened to burn the saints. --Pakistani Christians are attacked non-stop. Recently, in Islamabad, 17 believers were killed on a Sunday morning. --The Nigerian state of Lagos has outlawed all house churches. All new church buildings must be approved by the government. Evangelical groups are doing nothing to defend the saints who meet in homes. --Hindus in Gujarat, India are calling for the extermination of all Christians after they kill all the Muslims. --Muslims in Asaita, Ethiopia, attacked the Makane Yesus church during services and destroyed all the contents. One of the pastors is still in the hospital under treatment tell me Now where is the Real Islam for Salaam .

<><> Why then is there so much persecution against the Christian Church? Why are hundreds of thousands dying to Islamic
radicals ?? , Do you have the Answer yes That in Part 4
"ISLAM IS PERFECT... FALSE MUSLIMS ARE NOT"
SLAMIC RADICALS IS A FALSE MUSLIMS PART #3
ISLAMIC RADICALS IS A FALSE MUSLIMS PART #3
ISLAMIC RADICALS IS A FALSE MUSLIMS PART #3
<><><>><><
BY : Social Entrepreneurs Network Team & fredex126:-
BY : Social Entrepreneurs Network Team & fredex126 and you are Welcome:
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Israel releases Palestinian cash
The Israeli cabinet has approved the release of $100m (£51m) in frozen Palestinian funds.
The move was agreed at the first meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel has withheld $600m in tax revenues from the PA since Hamas formed a government earlier this year.

It says it will hand over the funds for humanitarian purposes if a mechanism can be found to bypass Hamas.

The two leaders also agreed to establish or re-establish three joint committees - a security committee to discuss the expansion of the current shaky Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire in Gaza to include the West Bank; a financial committee tasked with the transfer of tax revenues and other funds to the PA; and another to deal with eventual prisoner exchanges.


This is the beginning of a series of meetings - it was a good meeting, there was agreement on several issues
Palestinian official Nabil Abu Rdainah
But the BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem says many Israelis and Palestinians remain sceptical - agreements are one thing, their implementation quite another.

The meeting, at Mr Olmert's residence in the city, lasted nearly two hours.

The pair met informally in June, but these were the first formal talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for nearly two years.

Mr Abbas was greeted by the Israeli leader as he arrived for the meeting. The two men shook hands and kissed each other on the cheek, then Mr Olmert introduced his guest to his wife Aliza before they sat down to talk.

"This is the beginning of a series of meetings. It was a good meeting. There was agreement on several issues," Palestinian official Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters news agency.

Civil war fears

Mr Abbas and Mr Olmert have both said recently that they want to re-start peace talks, but both sides have also played down the prospects for any rapid progress.

Israel has repeatedly said it will not deal with the Hamas-led Palestinian government, which refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the Jewish state. Mr Abbas says his attempts to persuade Hamas to change its position have failed.

Last week he called for early elections, but Hamas denounced this as a coup attempt.

The dispute led to some of the worst factional fighting between Palestinians in years, prompting fears that the violence was descending into all-out civil war.

Israel has been under pressure from the US and the European Union in recent days to take steps to support Mr Abbas, our correspondent says.

Correspondents say a breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace process would help both leaders, with Mr Abbas suffering from the conflict with Hamas, and Mr Olmert losing popularity in Israel over his handling of the war with Lebanon this summer.

Olmert and Abbas hold first formal talks, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas he would unfreeze $100 million in withheld tax funds and remove some checkpoints in the occupied West Bank, officials said.

Olmert and Abbas, holding their first formal talks, also agreed to try to restart long stalled peace talks and discussed the issue of Palestinian prisoners, senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said after the two leaders met in Jerusalem.

Erekat said Olmert and Abbas agreed to form a committee to work out categories for freeing Palestinian prisoners, although Israeli officials said there would be no releases until an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza was freed.

"Both leaders reiterated their commitment to reviving a meaningful peace process that would lead to a two-state solution," Erekat told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Peace negotiations collapsed in 2000, and a Palestinian uprising erupted soon after. Hopes of reviving them appeared all but dead when the Hamas Islamist movement took power in Gaza and the West Bank in March.

Olmert has said he would be willing to release many Palestinian prisoners including long-term detainees, but only if militants in the Gaza Strip first free Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized in a cross-border raid in June.

Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin restated that position after the two hours of talks.  

Shalit's kidnapping prompted Israel to launch a five-month long offensive in Gaza that ended with a shaky truce in November.

Abbas and Olmert met informally on the sidelines of a conference in Jordan earlier this year, but the Palestinian president's last formal meeting with an Israeli prime minister was in February 2005 when Ariel Sharon held the post.

Olmert replaced Sharon as prime minister in January after Sharon suffered a massive stroke.

"This is the beginning of a series of meetings. It was a good meeting. There was agreement on several issues," Nabil Abu Rdainah, an aide to Abbas,
Olmert and Abbas smiled as they exchanged handshakes and kisses on the cheek at the start of their talks at the Israeli leader's residence in Jerusalem.

Israel has been under pressure from the United States and the European Union to take steps to support the moderate Abbas since he called for early Palestinian elections, a move that Hamas has rejected as a "coup" and unconstitutional.

It remains to be seen whether Israeli gestures will be substantial enough to boost the moderate Abbas in his confrontation with Hamas, which seeks Israel's destruction.

Abbas's decision to call elections has ratcheted up tensions in Gaza and the West Bank between his forces and those loyal to Hamas.

Israel says it is withholding nearly $500 million in Palestinian tax revenues -- money that would normally be used by the Palestinian Authority to pay government workers, who have not received full wages since March.

Israel refused to hand over those monies when Hamas took office.