Tony Blair joins the IMF and World Bank in urging Israel to ease the pressure on the Palestinian banking system (1). An op-ed in the Financial Times by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad encourages business development as a key to Palestinian independence (2). The United Nations Security Council is set to adopt a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (3). The Palestinian Prime Minister is joined by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown in urging a halt to Israeli settlement activity (4) (5). Hamas announces that the ceasefire with Israel will not be renewed when it expires later this week (7). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to announce a date for presidential and parliamentary elections (8).