Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has proposed closed-door talks with Israel on some of the Middle East’s most difficult disputes, including the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Israeli forces today took over an area of northern Gaza that used to be home to three Jewish settlements, creating a temporary buffer zone meant to prevent Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israeli towns and cities.

A senior Israeli Cabinet minister today warned of a harsh military response in the Gaza Strip if an abducted Israeli is harmed by his Palestinian captors.