In a symbolic nonviolent act, hundreds of Palestinian children gathered on Wednesday noon near the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt carrying plastic saws and hammers and symbolically attempted to demolish the wall in a move that shows their rejection to the siege imposed on Gaza. The protest started after nearly 300 children gathered near the Salah Ed Deen Gate close to the borders in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. 

A cross party group of MPs has called on the Quartet mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to open a dialogue with Hamas, saying "until now there has been no engagement between the Quartet and Hamas, but now we think it is time". The international development select committee said the international community should "seize the opportunity" of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to bring the Palestinian group into the peace process. 

Without realising it, an American philanthropic organisation, planning to set up a $16.5 million children’s hospital in Palestine, is on a collision course with radical Jewish settlers at a time that American officials are constantly repeating calls for a contiguous and independent Palestinian state. One wonders how someone like Barack Obama, who is presently visiting the region, would respond to actions by Jewish settlers preventing the creation of a hospital. 

Perhaps the most prominent commander of Fatah's military wing in the West Bank, Zakariya Zubeidi, traveled to Ramallah on Wednesday for his first excursion from Jenin in over eight years. Zubeidi, who headed the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades infrastructure in the Jenin refugee camp, is among the 24 wanted Palestinians granted amnesty by Israel as part of a series of gestures to the Fatah movement and its leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

The Israeli army have arrested the father of the girl who filmed the 7 July incident where an Israeli soldier shot a Palestinian man, who was handcuffed and had his feet bound together. The man was shot at close range as an Israeli commander watched. On Wednesday, the girl's father Jamal Hussein Amirra was arrested. The arrest occurred today near the Palestinian village of Ni'lin, north of Ramallah, where villagers were peacefully protesting the construction of the separation wall. 

Barack Obama arrived in Jerusalem for a 24-hour visit to Israel and the West Bank after promising he would work for a negotiated breakthrough in the Middle East conflict, "starting from the minute I'm sworn into office." Before what may prove the toughest and - in a political sense - hazard-strewn visit of his high-octane world tour, Mr. Obama implied he wanted to break with the presidential habit of leaving the Israeli-Palestinian issue to a second term. 

For some folks interested in genealogy, tracing one's roots is a stimulating activity. It's immensely interesting and meaningful to learn where one's life started. DNA testing has made it possible to trace one's roots back many generations and there are even free web sites that can help users trace their family history based on a few simple clues. Recent findings in my own personal history have been interesting indeed. 

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is said to be considering the release of former Fatah leader and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Marwan Barghouthi, Israeli paper Ma'ariv said on Wednesday. The possible move is said to be politically motivated, with the intention of strengthening President Abbas' hand in the run up to the presidential elections next January to the detriment of any Hamas candidate.