VARIOUS: U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets Israel's Shimon Peres, as Olmert and Hamas exchange conflicting messages

U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he hopes to reach a regional peace in the Middle East within five years, while Hamas gunmen train for the next conflict with Israel. U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres on Saturday night (March 31), amid renewed international and regional efforts to revive the Middle East peace process. The two had a private dinner at a restaurant in the coastal town of Jaffa. Pelosi is travelling with various U.S. lawmakers, and is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday (April 1) in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday (April 2) in the West Bank city of Ramallah. On Sunday, Pelosi is expected to address the Israeli parliament. Also on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert played down the chances of expanded Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip at this time, but said the army would be prepared to act if other options fail to counter Hamas's military build-up. "We won't be deterred from using military activity if we come to the conclusion, after an intense, level-headed examination, that there is no better way... But that is not the situation (currently)," Olmert told Israel's Channel 2 television in an interview aired on Saturday. Israeli and U.S. security officials say Hamas's forces are expanding faster and receiving more sophisticated weapons and training than those under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's control. In the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas gunmen were training for a new military confrontation with Israeli forces. Armed men performed various military drills, including marching, running through fire, climbing ropes and more. Abu Ubaida, a spokesman of Hamas's armed wing, said the Islamic militant group would be ready for any conflict with Israel. "We warn the Zionist enemy of any foolish act. Raiding Gaza will not be that easy and they will be surprised of the tactics we will use. We will be awaiting to turn Gaza into a graveyard for the Zionist soldiers if they would raid Gaza," Ubaida told Reuters at one of Hamas's training camps as militants practised firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. In an interview with Time magazine released on Friday, Olmert called Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas a "terrorist" and accused him of recently transferring more than $1 million to militants to carry out attacks against Israel. Olmert also demanded of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to see through the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid last summer. Abu-Ubaida told reporters that the release of Shalit will take place when Israel accepts militant organizations' demands. Ends.

ITN Source | April 1, 2007

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