Israel was not warned about possible terror attacks in London before at least six blasts ripped through the city, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said today.

ISRAEL’S Cabinet rejected a proposal to delay the summer’s Gaza Strip withdrawal by six months on Sunday, while the first settler families voluntarily moved out of their Gaza and West Bank homes.

Israel’s evacuation of 21 Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip will begin in mid-August, a month later than planned, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today, citing a religious mourning period but raising doubts about Israel’s readiness for the evacuation and even its resolve in carrying it out.

Charly Wegman, Jerusalem

Israeli President Moshe Katsav invited Syrian leader Syrian Bashar Assad to peace talks today – an overture that put him at odds with prime minister Ariel Sharon.