Via Raw Story, this unprecedented news that, if true, just may break the Middle East gridlock:

Former Israeli premier Ehud Olmert said on Sunday the United States had agreed to accept 100,000 Palestinian refugees within the framework of an eventual Middle East peace deal, media reported.

Washington had agreed to absorb and give citizenship to 100,000 refugees, while Israel would accept less than 20 000, Israeli media quoted Olmert as telling a conference.

"The numbers discussed were below 20 000, but this would require an end to the conflict and a Palestinian announcement that they would not make any more demands," the Ynet website quoted him as saying.

Olmert was speaking at a conference in Tel Aviv organised by the Geneva Initiative, an Israeli-Palestinian group that aims to show a peace accord is possible.

Unless Congress passes a special law, this agreement pretty much taps out the annual number of immigrants allowed from other countries. Plus, the federal government contracts with social service agencies to provide resettlement services, and the organizations have to be large enough to handle additional volume.

Hopefully this will be successful:

Prime Minster Ehud Olmert on Saturday night announced that Israel's government has voted in favor of a unilateral cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, and will halt its fire from 2 A.M.

The announcement comes after three weeks of fighting in the coastal strip, as Israel launched a massive offensive aimed at halting years of daily rocket fire on its southern communities.

A strong hint at the announcement came earlier Saturday, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel was very close to meeting the objectives of its 22-day-old offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza. "After three weeks of Operation Cast Lead, we are very close to reaching the goals and securing them through diplomatic agreements," Barak said during a visit to the south of the country, according to a statement from his office.

The cabinet is meeting now and will hold a vote on Saturday evening to decide whether to enact a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.