1. Brazilian president Luis Inacio Luia da Silva has called on an immediate halt on Israels expansion of settlements in Palestinian territories. Silva was hositng acting Palestinian chief Mahmud Abbas. The Brazilian president said that the UN should take over the peace talks in the Middle East in stead of the USA. He said the USA itself is responsible for the prevailing crisis in the region. His comments came after Israel approved a plan to build 900 homes in East Jerusalem this week.
2. Meanwhile Palestinians converged in Jerusalem to protest the Israeli house demolitions following last week's destruction of 5 houses in the city. Palestinians say building permits are virtually impossible to obtain. They call it calculated afforts to change the demografy of Jerusalem. Israel demolishes the houses as it expands the settlement building. A decision that faces strong critics of world leaders.
3. Abbas pospones election in January 2010 officially, reconfirming he will not run for a second term after his mandate expires in January. Abbas says his decision came because of his frustration with Washington's stance on Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.