Aide: Abbas to ask Olmert to stop escalation on southern front

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that the Palestinian leader would "urge the prime minister to make every effort not to let things slide, to avoid further suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip."

Although Abbas no longer controls Gaza, he still claims to be the legitimate leader and representative of the area's 1.4 million people. (AP)