A Christian Science Monitor opinion discusses how restraint in defense can help give Israel moral strength (1). A Washington Post editorial opines that the peace process will stall as long as Hamas controls the gaza strip (3). The Agence France Presse reports on attempts by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to salvage the Mideast peace process (6) while BBC News reports on calls by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for a truce in the region (7). An editorial in Haaretz examines the role of Shas in the Israeli political system (10).