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Israel's Olmert Says He Is Ready to Meet Abbas
 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was ready to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to advance progress on a stalled Middle East peace "road map." But he stressed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that at the top of the agenda was securing the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by militants from the Gaza Strip in June. "I assured Prime Minister Blair that I am ready to work closely with Abbas to implement the road map," Olmert told a news conference after meeting Blair. Olmert added that the road map called for the dismantling of Palestinian militant groups. (Reuters)
Shimon Peres: West Bank Pullout Plans Are Over
 Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres has reiterated that his government had abandoned plans to withdraw from most of the West Bank. "The idea of unilateral disengagement or realignment is over. It is over politically, psychologically as well as operationally," Peres said. "There will not be a manifold repetition in Judea and Samaria (the southern and northern West Bank) of the withdrawal from Gaza. There will not be massive evacuation of the settlements." (AFP/Yahoo)
Ahmadinejad Seeks to Purge Universities of Liberal Professors
by Francis Harris
 The fiery Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, demanded last week that students denounce liberal professors, amid growing signals that a purge of regime opponents is gathering steam. Earlier this year, scores of liberal academics were forced into retirement while the regime appointed an ayatollah to head Teheran University. (Telegraph-UK)
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Israel Lifts Lebanese Sea Blockade
by Edward Cody
 Israel lifted its eight-week-old maritime blockade of Lebanon on Friday, the United Nations announced, and within hours a gleaming white ship pulled into Beirut harbor carrying a load of appliances. The reopening of sea lanes to Lebanon, which the United Nations said took place in the early afternoon, came one day after Israel lifted its blockade of air traffic. Israel said it imposed the blockade to prevent arms shipments to Hizballah. (Washington Post)
Israel: Arab League Plan for International Conference Is Attempt to Skip Roadmap Responsibility
by Shlomo Shamir & Aluf Benn
 Israel is opposed to a new Arab League initiative to hold an international Middle East peace conference, which was discussed last week by Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. Government sources in Jerusalem said the plan is a Palestinian attempt to evade applying the first stage of the road map which calls for the elimination of terrorist organizations in the Palestinian Authority. "An international conference is part of the second stage of the road map, but before that, the first stage must be carried out," the sources said. (Ha'aretz)
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