 | Israeli President Shimon Peres: U.S. and other powers must engage Hamas on peace |
| JERUSALEM -- Israel's president and elder statesman, Shimon Peres, urged the United States and other world powers this week to engage with Hamas in order to persuade the Islamist group to renounce violence and prepare for peace with Israel. |
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| Adviser to Israel's Netanyahu questions Mideast peace effort, new Iran sanctions |
| JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said Tuesday that the push for Palestinian statehood has weakened Israel's standing in the world, and he suggested that the outlook is bleak for U.S.-mediated negotiations in the region. |
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| Top Israeli official pessimistic about U.S.-led Mideast peace talks |
| JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said Tuesday that the push for Palestinian statehood has weakened Israel's standing in the world and suggested that the outlook is bleak for U.S.-mediated negotiations in the region. |
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| Israel's feeling of isolation is becoming more pronounced |
JERUSALEM -- An Elton John concert ordinarily isn't front-page news. But in Israel, where many feel more shunned than they have in decades, the legendary pop icon's decision to perform in Tel Aviv last Thursday was cause for celebration.
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| Palestinian politicians reject Israeli deportation order |
| JERUSALEM -- Four Palestinian politicians affiliated with the Islamist Hamas party on Monday rejected an Israeli order that they relocate to the West Bank. |
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| Turkey's foreign policy moves raise concern in West and at home |
| ISTANBUL -- The women wore veils. The men donned green Hamas headbands with swirling Arabic script. They gathered by the thousands in a sunny, working-class plaza in Istanbul, bellowing: "Damn Israel!" |
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| Israel's restrictions haven't weakened Hamas's grip over Gaza, analysts say |
| GAZA CITY -- Three years after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody battle with its secular rival, Israel's efforts to undercut the Islamist movement's rule through a policy of isolation have largely failed, according to analysts and residents here. |
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| Israel's Netanyahu maintains defiance amid criticism over Gaza blockade |
JERUSALEM -- When Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered his angry response to a cascade of international condemnation of Israel on Wednesday, he spoke first in Hebrew to a domestic Israeli audience. Choosing to address his home constituency, rather than the broader world, was a sign of his continued willingness to accept international ire as the price of upholding policies that are broadly supported at home.
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| Israel's Netanyahu maintains defiance amid criticism over Gaza blockade |
| JERUSALEM -- When Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered his angry response to a cascade of international condemnation of Israel on Wednesday, he spoke first in Hebrew to a domestic Israeli audience. Choosing to address his home constituency, rather than the broader world, was a sign of his continued willingness to accept international ire as the price of upholding policies that are broadly supported at home. |
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| Nations decry Israel's blockade of Gaza |
| JERUSALEM -- Israel's botched and deadly commando raid on an aid flotilla has set off widespread international criticism of the Gaza blockade, with popular opinion in many countries swinging heavily against Israel and even the United States urging its ally to find new ways to allow aid shipments to reach the Palestinians. |
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| Israel: At least 9 pro-Palestinian activists killed on Gaza flotilla carrying aid. |
| JERUSALEM -- At least nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed and dozens were wounded aboard an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip when Israeli naval commandos seized control of the boats in international waters early Monday. |
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| Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu set to visit White House again |
ISRAEL
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| Israeli construction in East Jerusalem adds to difficulties facing negotiators |
| JERUSALEM -- When the Obama administration launches indirect peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, as early as this weekend, it faces a much more complicated landscape than the Clinton or Bush administrations did, especially in Jerusalem. |
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| Foreign news roundup: Indirect talks closer for Israelis, Palestinians |
| MIDDLE EAST |
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| Israel, Palestinians move closer to indirect peace talks |
| JERUSALEM -- Israel and the Palestinians on Wednesday crept closer to indirect peace talks as U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to set the rules for Palestinian statehood discussions. |
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| Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas says he asked U.S. to 'impose' peace solution |
MIDDLE EAST
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| As U.S.-Israel rift continues, Netanyahu finds himself in a bind |
| JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was welcomed home Thursday night with signs reading "Obama, No You Can't" and "Netanyahu Stand Strong" after a trip to Washington that appeared only to widen a two-week-old rift between the close allies over Israeli housing construction. |
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| Dispute with Israel underscores limits of U.S. power, a shifting alliance |
| The two-week-old dispute between Israel and the United States over housing construction in East Jerusalem has exposed the limits of American power to pressure Israeli leaders to make decisions they consider politically untenable. But the blowup also shows that the relationship between the two allies is changing, in ways that are unsettling for Israel's supporters. |
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| U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon calls for Israel to halt all settlement activity |
| ISRAEL |
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| Clinton: Netanyahu responded with 'useful, productive' ideas to defuse crisis |
MOSCOW--Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that she had received a "useful and productive" response from Israel after a tense standoff over a housing project threatened to derail plans for Middle East peace talks.
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| For Israeli leaders, snubbing the U.S. may not be a political win |
| So who wins politically when the United States and Israel feud? |
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| Israeli prime minister calls settlement dispute with U.S. regrettable, hurtful |
| JERUSALEM -- The spat between the United States and Israel over planned construction in an East Jerusalem neighborhood dominated the Israeli cabinet meeting on Sunday as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continued to face criticism from coalition allies, opposition members and the press for what many say was his mismanagement of the issue during Vice President Biden's visit last week. |
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| Biden reassures Israel on Iran, presses for talks with Palestinians |
| JERUSALEM -- Vice President Biden on Thursday assured Israelis that the United States is "determined" to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and urged Arab states, equally worried about Iran's nuclear program, to take steps toward peace with Israel. |
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| Biden's rebuke on new housing comes as Israel seeks to reaffirm U.S. relations |
JERUSALEM -- Two years ago, Israel announced plans to build new homes in east Jerusalem just as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was preparing to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, prompting Rice's spokesman to characterize the move as "not helpful."
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| U.S. condemns Israel's plans to build housing in east Jerusalem |
| JERUSALEM -- After spending most of Tuesday celebrating what he called the "unshakable" bond between the United States and Israel, Vice President Biden ended the day strongly condemning the longtime U.S. ally for approving 1,600 new housing units in disputed east Jerusalem -- an awkwardly timed move that threatened to kill a new push for Mideast peace by the Obama administration. |
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| Biden visits Middle East; Israel and Palestinians agree to indirect talks |
| JERUSALEM -- Vice President Biden arrived in Israel on Monday to boost U.S. efforts to mediate talks between Israelis and Palestinians amid criticism that the Obama administration has set back the peace process. |
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