Fresh from the success of the Viva Palestina: Lifeline from Britain to Gaza aid convoy - which took over 100 vehicles to Gaza from the UK, Member of Parliament, George Galloway has linked up on his US tour with the Vietnam veteran and peace campaigner, Ron Kovic, to launch a similar, but even larger venture from the States.
The Palestinian leadership could fall apart without significant progress towards peace with Israel, which would be a major setback for Israel, a senior Israeli intelligence official has said.
Next week's visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Israel and the Palestinian territories has aroused conflicting emotions among Christians, Muslims and Jews in the region. To the small Catholic community in the Gaza Strip, his arrival offers the rare chance to escape, if only for a day, the misery of the war-ravaged territory.