Israel will target any Palestinians who fire mortars at Israeli communities, Israeli security chiefs decided today, signalling a further erosion of a shaky Mideast truce.

ISRAELI Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz yesterday recommended delaying Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the strongest indication yet that the summer pullout will be pushed back as Israel tries to prepare for the operation.

Flatbed trucks rumbled out of the Gaza Strip today carrying office furniture, computers and uniforms out of an army base, the Israeli military’s first concrete step toward a planned pullout this summer.

The Israeli military was delivering the bodies of 15 militants to the Palestinians for burial today, a day after Israel’s cabinet approved the names of 500 prisoners to be released and security commanders prepared for the handover of a West Bank town to Palestinian control.

Israeli Cabinet ministers today approved the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners – 500 of them next week – and a withdrawal from the West Bank town of Jericho.

There can be no Arab-Israeli peace unless the Palestinians gain a state that satisfies their aspirations for independence, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said before meeting with a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Israel decided to resume diplomatic contacts with the Palestinian Authority today after a two-week freeze and agreed to suspend targeted killings of militants, taking two more steps toward a ceasefire and a resumption of peace talks.

Israel is “discouraged” by interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to distance himself from the legacy of Yasser Arafat, Israel’s Foreign Minister said in remarks published today, the strongest Israeli criticism of Palestinian policies since Arafat’s death.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said tonight that for his nation “2005 is the year of the great opportunity.”

A top aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today expressed high hopes for a proposed Mideast conference in London, backing off Israel’s earlier misgivings about the event.

THE ailing Yasser Arafat will be flown to Paris for treatment, one of his doctors said yesterday after the Palestinian leader spent most of the day sleeping, was confused at times and unable to hold down food.

THE real objective of Ariel Sharon's offer to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank is to freeze Palestinian statehood indefinitely, with the blessing of the US, a senior aide to the Israeli Prime Minister said yesterday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon struggled to keep his fragile coalition intact today after the Cabinet approved his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip by 2005.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to present his full Gaza withdrawal plan to his recalcitrant cabinet next week, and said today it will be approved.

THE Palestinian prime minister, who is making a final push to halt attacks on Israelis, met yesterday with a US envoy dispatched to the region to get a Mideast peace plan back on track.

Israel and the Palestinians are resuming top-level security talks despite a bloody week of bombings and missile strikes that left 60 people dead on both sides, officials said today.

ISRAEL will hand over some Jewish settlements for peace, but the Palestinians must give up their demand that refugees be allowed to return to their former homes in Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview.

Israel will hand over some Jewish settlements in the West Bank for peace, but the Palestinians must give up on their key demand for refugees to be allowed to return to their former homes in Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview published today.

A roadside bomb exploded next to an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip today, killing all four soldiers inside, the military said.

THREE Palestinians blew up their explosives-laden car next to a Gaza Strip army post yesterday, killing themselves and wounding four Israeli soldiers, military sources said.