AP - With the Mideast peace process stalled and U.S.-Israeli relations in crisis, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton headed Wednesday to a Mideast strategy meeting of top international diplomats.

AFP - President Barack Obama on Wednesday denied a crisis was rocking US-Israeli relations, as one of the worst rows in years between the allies rumbled on over new homes for Jewish settlers.

AFP - Israel on Wednesday dismissed mounting pressure to stop building homes for Jewish settlers in annexed east Jerusalem, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying the demands were "unreasonable."

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday Israeli plans to build more homes near East Jerusalem were not helpful for the Middle East peace process, but he said the issue had not led to a crisis with one of the United States' closest allies.

AP - Israel on Wednesday lifted its tight restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem's holiest shrine and called off an extended West Bank closure after days of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

AFP - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was still waiting Wednesday for a response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about US complaints over Israeli settlements, a US spokesman said.

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Barack Obama on Wednesday after a disagreement over Jewish settlements, to distance himself from his brother-in-law calling the U.S. president an anti-Semite.

AFP - A crisis in US-Israeli relations over new settlement construction will dominate a meeting of the Quartet negotiating group in Moscow this week and could see more pressure applied to Israel.

AP - Brazil's president placed a wreath on the tomb of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Wednesday and sharply criticized Israeli policies, leading Israeli officials to suggest he was not being evenhanded.

AFP - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will talk soon with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid a bitter diplomatic feud with the staunch US ally, officials said.

AFP - The Obama administration's row with Israel over settlements has prompted some analysts to wonder whether it seeks "regime change," a new government that can make peace with the Palestinians.

AFP - Israel counted the cost Wednesday after hundreds of Palestinians clashed with security forces across east Jerusalem, amid the worst diplomatic spat in decades between Israel and its key US ally.

AFP - Gaza's borders are closed and its economy in shambles, but the glittering alleys of the territory's centuries-old gold bazaar are packed with young brides to be.

The Christian Science Monitor - Iran is closely watching the unfolding crisis between Israel and the United States over Israeli settlements – and Jerusalem clashes with Palestinians that injured more than 100 today – for ways to rejuvenate its diminished influence in the Middle East.