Palestinian women dig for new opportunities in Gaza (Reuters)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:16:11 GMT
Reuters - A group of Palestinian women is breaking new ground in the Gaza Strip by working as ditch-diggers to support their families.
Arabs meet on Palestinian peace talks with Israel (AFP)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:05 GMT

Arab foreign ministers will hold crucial talks with Palestinian Mahmud Abbas (pictured) to decide whether he will begin direct negotiations with Israel amid pressure from the United States. Abbas has accepted holding only indirect talks with Israel, which has rejected his conditions for face-to-face negotiations.(AFP/File/Abbas Momani)AFP - Arab officials began crucial talks with Palestinian Mahmud Abbas on Thursday to decide whether he will begin direct negotiations with Israel amid pressure from the United States.


U.N.-backed Lebanon tribunal rejects Hezbollah outcry (Reuters)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:28:23 GMT
Reuters - A U.N.-backed tribunal set up to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri on Thursday rejected charges by Lebanon's Hezbollah armed group that its work is politically motivated.
Abbas resists push for direct talks with Israel (AP)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:12:33 GMT
AP - The Palestinian president is refusing to move to direct peace negotiations with Israel, as the Arab League meets Thursday to decide whether to add its weight to U.S. and Israeli pressure for face-to-face talks.
Feeble, choked River Jordan struggles for salvation (Reuters)
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:57:13 GMT

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 14, 2009 file photo, an Assyrian Orthodox Christian clergyman baptizes a baby in the Jordan River during a ceremony at Qasr-el Yahud near Jericho, in the West Bank, during Holy Week. The Israeli government and environmentalists are sparring over the safety of a baptism site on the Jordan River. The green group Friends of the Earth-Middle East says the site known as Qasr el-Yahud is unsafe for baptism because of the amount of sewage pumped into the famous river from Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)Reuters - Christian pilgrims alarmed by claims that baptism in the River Jordan could make them sick are being urgently reassured by Israeli officials that the water poses no health risk.


Egypt: US assurances may boost direct peace talks (AP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:56:38 GMT
AP - Egypt said Wednesday it has received U.S. assurances that may help in restarting direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.
Lebanon charges 2nd telco worker with Israel spying (Reuters)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:51:00 GMT
Reuters - A Lebanese prosecutor on Wednesday charged a employee at state-owned mobile phone firm Alfa with spying for Israel and referred him to military court, judicial sources said.
Gaza lingerie shops eyed by Hamas police (AFP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:16:34 GMT

A Palestinian woman and her daughter shop in the main market in Gaza City in 2008. Hamas on Wednesday announced new regulations on shops selling women's clothes as part of a campaign to safeguard AFP - Hamas on Wednesday announced new regulations on shops selling women's clothes as part of a campaign to safeguard "public morality" in its Gaza enclave.


Why a young Israeli woman spies on Israeli settlements in West Bank (The Christian Science Monitor)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:10:50 GMT
The Christian Science Monitor - If Palestinians ever achieve the viable state to which they aspire, they will have a determined young Israeli activist to thank for its territory not being entirely swallowed by Israeli settlements.
Palestinians set to reject direct talks for now (Reuters)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:20:44 GMT

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks to reporters after meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman July 26, 2010. REUTERS/Ali JarekjiReuters - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will tell the Arab League on Thursday indirect talks with Israel have not progressed enough to justify face-to-face peace negotiations, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.


Pressure mounts for direct Mideast talks (AFP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:58:21 GMT

A Palestinian waves his national flag as Israeli soldiers fire tear gas canisters at protesters during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh in May 2010. International calls for direct Middle East peace talks are mounting ahead of a key meeting of Arab ministers as the Palestinians stuck to their demand for guarantees on borders.(AFP/File/Ahmad Gharabli)AFP - International calls for direct Middle East peace talks mounted on Wednesday ahead of a key meeting of Arab ministers as the Palestinians stuck to their demand for guarantees on borders.


Egypt denies visas to Gaza-bound Iranian MPs: report (AFP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:34:21 GMT

Egyptian soldiers look towards the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, 2009. Egypt has denied visas to four Iranian lawmakers who planned to travel to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.(AFP/File/Said Khatib)AFP - Egypt has denied visas to four Iranian lawmakers who planned to travel to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, Iran's Press TV reported on Wednesday.


Israel rejects Abbas terms for direct talks (AFP)
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:00:41 GMT

Israel's vice prime minister charged that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, seen here on July 20, has laid down AFP - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has laid down "impossible" conditions for moving to direct peace talks, Israel's vice prime minister charged on Wednesday.


Israeli police, Palestinian youths clash in east Jerusalem (AFP)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:26:20 GMT

Palestinian youths throw stones at Israeli police during clashes in the Arab east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan. Israeli police and some 200 Palestinian youths clashed on Tuesday in a part of occupied east Jerusalem where a controversial Israeli archaeological project is underway, an AFP photographer reported.(AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)AFP - Israeli police and some 200 Palestinian youths clashed on Tuesday in a part of occupied east Jerusalem where a controversial Israeli archaeological project is underway, an AFP photographer reported.


Israel, Jordan leaders discuss Mideast peace talks (AP)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:38:51 GMT

A Christian pilgrim dunks herself in the Jordan River during a ceremony for the upcoming holiday of Easter at the Qasir al-Yahud baptismal site near the West Bank city of Jericho in this March 31, 2010 file picture. Christian pilgrims alarmed by claims that baptism in the River Jordan could make them sick are being urgently reassured by Israeli officials that the water poses no health risk. To match feature ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/JORDAN REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Files (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION ENVIRONMENT HEALTH)AP - In a surprise visit to Amman on Tuesday, Israel's prime minister tried to mobilize Jordan's king in his effort to persuade the Palestinians to resume direct peace talks, though the chief Palestinian negotiator again rejected the idea.


British PM calls Gaza 'prison camp' (AFP)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:59:04 GMT

A Palestinian man carries food aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on July 25. British Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, slamming the current state of the Palestinian enclave as a AFP - British Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday urged Israel to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip, slamming the current state of the Palestinian enclave as a "prison camp."


Israel PM meets Jordan king in push for direct peace talks (AFP)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:51:48 GMT

An image made available by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman. Netanyahu was on a surprise visit to Jordan as he tries to convince Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas to upgrade Middle East peace talks.(AFP/HO/Yussef Allan)AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met King Abdullah II on a surprise visit to Jordan on Tuesday as he tries to convince Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas to upgrade Middle East peace talks.


Israeli, Jordan leaders discuss Palestinian talks (Reuters)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:44:11 GMT

A Jewish settler stands with a boy near the ruins of a razed structure at the Givat Ronen outpost beside the West Bank Jewish settlement of Har Bracha July 26, 2010. REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunReuters - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan's King Abdullah discussed on Tuesday ways of launching direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, a Jordanian palace official said.


Hamas warns Abbas to reject direct peace talks (AFP)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:17:14 GMT

Palestinian Hamas security forces take part in a graduation ceremony on Monday in Gaza City. Hamas has warned Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas not to relaunch direct peace talks with Israel, which it said AFP - Hamas on Tuesday warned Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas not to relaunch direct peace talks with Israel, which it said "would only serve the Zionist occupation."


British PM visits Turkey: Iran, Gaza on agenda (AP)
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:51:01 GMT

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for cameras before their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 26, 2010. Cameron is in Turkey for a two-day visit.(AP Photo/Adem Altan, Pool)AP - British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Turkey on Tuesday, saying the world needs Turkey's help in pushing Iran to address concerns about its nuclear program and harshly criticizing Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists.