Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to attend a Sharm el-Sheikh economic conference on Sunday, perhaps providing him with an opportunity to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and/or Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman.

While Egypt is not signaling anything new on the table, talks are continuing towards reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

While it is unlikely that Hamas will agree to include the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit in a ceasefire deal as Israel is seeking, the national government appears interested in continuing efforts towards hammering out a deal with the terror organization.

In the meantime, the rocket attacks that are pounding the Greater Sderot Area are becoming increasingly frequent and deadly, and are all but ignored by the national government according to Sderot and Ashkelon residents, who accuse Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of turning his back on the security realities of southern residents.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)