* ‘North better off today than 4 yrs ago’ The decision to go to war last summer was justified, and northern Israel was better for it, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

* PM considers allowing Jordanian forces to enter West Bank Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is considering allowing forces from the Palestinian Bader Division of the Jordanian army to enter the West Bank.

* Syria open to altering ties with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas Syria has signaled to the UN’s Middle East envoy a willingness to change its relationship with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas if progress were made towards a peace deal with Israel.

* Government report: Al Qaeda strongest since September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda is the strongest it has been since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

* Lebanese army pounds refugee camp Two Lebanese soldiers have been killed after the army resumed heavy shelling of a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli.

* Babylonian King’s Eunuch Really Existed! A routine research visit to the British Museum nets a landmark archaeological discovery and proof of the truth of the Bible.

* Rightists warned over plans to rebuild settlement Security officials threatened Wednesday to take action against right-wing activists if they pushed on with plans to march toward the former West Bank settlement of Homesh next week without authorization.

* Photos: Unsupervised Islamic Digging on Temple Mount The Islamic Wakf is digging large ditches on the Temple Mount without archaeological supervision to protect antiquities at Judaism’s holiest site.

* Analysis: Hamas won the battle – and it may win the war, too A month after its takeover of Gaza, it seems Hamas has begun to translate its military achievements into political dividends.

* US and EU revise Kosovo resolution Europe and the US have revised a draft UN resolution on the status of Kosovo.