Israelis would vote Ehud Olmert out of office if elections were held now, polls indicated today, as the defiant prime minister defended his performance in the Lebanon war and lashed out at his critics.

The Israeli pullout from Lebanon was unlikely to be completed before the weekend, a senior army officer said today.

A lull in five years of violence with the Palestinians and the pullout from the Gaza Strip has more Israelis feeling upbeat on the eve of the Jewish New Year, which begins at sunset today.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hopes for “great progress” in the peace process with the Palestinians in the coming year.

Israel’s terror alert for the Sinai desert is based on information that Arab militants planning attacks against Israelis are already located in the resort area, an official said today.

Stocks regained some momentum today as fresh economic data suggested inflation remains well under control, but volatile oil prices gave investors some pause late in the session.

Stocks sagged on Wall Street today after Coca-Cola and several other companies issued gloomy forecasts, and lower-than-expected figures on industrial production for August threw the broader US economic outlook into question.

The Material Girl was flying to the Holy Land today on a spiritual quest.

Troops sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip today, imposing a virtual blanket ban on Palestinians entering Israel until the end of the Jewish holiday season next month, due to fears of terror attacks.

MADONNA will celebrate the Jewish New Year in Israel next week, and 2,000 police are being mobilised for her planned pilgrimage to the graves of rabbinical sages.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured another today after the pair crossed into a restricted area around the fence that isolated Gaza.

An Israeli and a Palestinian attacker were killed tonight in attack on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, emergency workers said.

Israelis were ushering in the Jewish New Year’s holiday today with little expectation that the year 5764 will bring respite from the conflict with the Palestinians and a deepening economic crisis.

Israeli authorities today barred 12 Palestinian lawmakers from travelling from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to attend a parliamentary session discussing democratic reforms sought by Israel and the United States.

Palestinians expressed outrage today after an internal army investigation cleared Israeli soldiers who killed 12 Palestinians in three incidents last week, calling it a whitewash. None of those killed carried firearms.

Israel intends to destroy the family homes of four Palestinians suspected of terrorist attacks that killed 36 bystanders - a punitive measure the Israelis believe also acts as a deterrent.

Israeli helicopters attacked a factory in the Gaza Strip early today after Palestinians blew up an Israeli tank and killed two soldiers.

POLICE detonated a 1,300 pound car bomb yesterday, one of the largest ever discovered, and Israel’s foreign minister said it averted a catastrophe that could have changed the face of the Middle East.

Israeli police today said they had discovered a huge car bomb brought into the north of the country from the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that for the first time in nearly two years of fighting, he sees the possibility of a negotiated deal with the Palestinians.