Shorts: Mideast

Sharon, Abbas poised to meet in Jordan

jerusalem (ap) | Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are set to meet next week to try to renew the Mideast peace process

King Abdullah of Jordan, who served as mediator, said that the meeting is scheduled for October 11, in Amman, Jordan.




Israeli ship implicated in accident

jerusalem (jta) | Israel's biggest shipping company said one of its vessels was involved in a deadly accident off Japan's coast.

Zim offered apologies and compensation to the families of seven Japanese fisherman who died in a collision with one of its tankers last week near the northern island of Hokkaido. Zim originally had denied involvement. Israel's Transportation Ministry has said it will aid in the investigation.




Immigration to Israel increasing

jerusalem (jta) | Increased immigration to Israel from France and North America was cited as the cause of a rise in aliyah last year. Since September 2004, 23,124 people immigrated to Israel, as opposed to 21,604 the year before. This is the first increase since 1999, the Jerusalem Post reported.




Poll: Arabs approve of Zionism

jerusalem (jta) | Most of Israel's Arab citizens accept Zionism, a poll found. According to the Hebrew University poll released this week, 63 percent of Israeli Arabs believe in the principle of two states for two peoples, whereby Palestinians gain independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Israel serves as the Jewish state.

Thirty-four percent of respondents expressed opposition to the Zionist principle. The findings appeared to counter the hard-line rhetoric of many Israeli Arab leaders, who demand that Israel abandon its principles as a Jewish state.