JERUSALEM (IPS) � The likelihood of a large-scale Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip has crept closer as more rockets continue to land in southern Israel and another Israeli was killed by a mortar shell, further hardening attitudes amongst senior ministers against a proposed truce with Hamas.

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) � This week, Iran's new speaker of Parliament, Ali Larijani, proposed forming two joint committees of the legislative and judiciary branches in an effort to reconcile new legislation with the Islamic penal code.

A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November.

I cannot say that I ever liked Ehud Olmert. But now I almost feel sorry for him. It is not pleasant to see how they pounce on him, like jackals and hyenas fighting over a carcass. And that also raises some questions. Was Olmert the only fallible human being in this paradise?

BETHLEHEM � Amid lavish settings and tight security, hundreds of investors and entrepreneurs from around the world last week gathered in the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem to discuss and plan joint business ventures.