Despite having risen to power last March on the basis of his promise to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had nothing to say about the issue during his speech at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session on Monday. Olmert outlined his agenda for the coming year, but made sure that nothing was said about further unilateral Israeli redeployment from the occupied Palestinian territories. For some commentators, this indicated his weak stance within the Israeli political and military establishment following Israel’s defeat by Hizballah during the recent Israeli war of aggression against Lebanon.

In recent days, the Israeli government has also accused Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of obstructing the resumption of talks, after the latter insisted that around 850 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails be released in order for any efforts to bare fruit on the overall prospects of Palestinian-Israeli political dialogue. Meanwhile, PLO Negotiations Affairs Department chief, Dr. Saeb Erekat, stated that there are serious efforts under way to ensure that any meeting between Olmert and Abbas will guarantee the minimum achievements necessary to boost peace efforts; this, according to Erekat, includes Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, as well as the release of captured Israeli soldier Gil’ad Shalit.

Olmert’s failure to both achieve any tangible results during the recent war against Lebanon as well as his inability to achieve security for Israel on the internal front has had detrimental effects on his leadership and the overall performance of Sharon’s Kadima party, whose fragile standing may well pave the way for the return of hard line Israeli Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahou to power, albeit under some coalition formula, should early elections be held.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have shot and killed 2 Palestinians on Tuesday in the village of Qabatya, south of the West Bank city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Israeli military sources claim that Palestinians had attacked their troops in the village during a raid. Palestinian medical sources confirmed that the victims are 18-year old Omar Zakarneh and 24-year old Hani Kameel.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops have ordered members of the Palestinian National Security to evacuate their positions near the town of Beit Lahia, in order to pave the way for Israeli troops to carry out a raid in the area. There is increasing alarm that Israel aims to step up its assaults against the Gaza Strip in the coming days; allegedly to prevent (what is says is) the smuggling of heavy weaponry in the strip from Egypt.