PROGRESS IN THE MID EAST

HAARETZ - More than four decades after Israeli officials banned the Beatles from appearing at a scheduled 1965 concert, Israel extended an olive branch to the band, with an eye to having the two surviving members - Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr - perform at the 60th anniversary of the state's creation in May.

Army Radio reported that Israeli Ambassador to Britain Ron Prosor visited the band's hometown of Liverpool, where he met with John Lennon's sister Julia Bairdat at the Beatles museum.

Letters of reconciliation are to be sent to McCartney and Starr as well as relatives of late band member George Harrison, the radio said.

The Israeli embassy in London on Monday night told Haaretz that the letters represented an opportunity for "a second chance."

The Beatles had been booked to appear in Israel in 1965, but government officials refused to grant the necessary permits, citing concerns that the tousled-haired British band and its strident, amplified music could corrupt the morals of Israeli youth. The never-used tickets for the concert have long been a prized souvenir among Israeli fans of the group.