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Election Outcome in Israel

At the time of writing, with 96% of the vote counted, Haaretz reports:

"Declaring an election victory, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appealed to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas early Wednesday to enter into negotiations over the permanent borders of Israel, but added that Israel would act alone if peace efforts remained stalled".

Read the full article here, especially how the respective parties fared - but the omens aren't positive. Israel going it alone in relation to its borders will surely spell trouble. And then there are the other political parties in Israel who may well influence what the country does both politically and economically.

On the other side of the fence, as it were, Hamas has gained parliamentary approval - as reported here by BBC News. Yet another dimension to this unfolding situation in the area.

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