David Welch and John Negroponte on visit in Ramallah and Tel Aviv
http://www.arabmonitor.info/news/det...=16232&lang=en
Gaza, 2 November - As the death toll of Israel's ongoing military incursion in Beit Hanoun is mounting to 14 and the number of injured has risen above 60, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting in Ramallah with US assistant Secretary of State for Near East affairs David Welch. According to Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, Abbas demanded from Welch that the American administration intervene to stop the Israeli aggression.
According to statements released on the radio by the chairman of the Knesset's foreign affairs and defense committee Tzahi Hanegbi, Israel had launched the latest military operation in the Gaza Strip "having learned the lessons of this summer's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon: what happened has taught us that to wait for years without doing anything can cost us dearly, a war with Hamas is inevitable, it has to be prepared for". To tackle this issue, besides David Welch, US national intelligence director John Negroponte is also expected to come to Israel, where he is to hold talks with Meir Dagan, head of the Mossad, as well as with other Israeli officials.