1. PALESTINIAN GROUPS PREPARE FOR LONDON…The Palestinian Authority is finalizing details ahead of the London conference on the Middle East, which is scheduled to take place early next month. Israel has already said it will not be participating in the meeting, which will focus on Palestinian issues. The gathering will be hosted by United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair. It will also be attended by the members of the international Quartet: The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.
2. …AND CAIRO…Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority and the other leading factions are also preparing for a crucial meeting in Egypt, also at the start of March. The aim of the Cairo talks is twofold: to reach security understandings amongst the Palestinian groupings and to discuss the start of key reforms in the Palestinian Authority. It is understood that the leaders of the Palestinian terrorist organizations based in Syria will attend. So far, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said they will only temporarily uphold a cease-fire and are demanding further concessions from Jerusalem in order to make the agreement more lasting.
3. MORTARS HIT ISRAELI ENCLAVES…Reports from the Gaza Strip say Palestinians fired at least two mortars at Israeli homes on Friday morning. There were no reports of injuries. It was the first such attack in several days. Over the last month there has been a major decline in the number of strikes. However, Israeli intelligence says there are still dozens of warnings of terror cells planning attacks on Israelis inside the pre-1967 lines.