The Israeli army has closed the West Bank border for the first two days of the Passover holiday, which begins at sundown.

Israel’s security chiefs have met to discuss the Jewish state’s response to a suicide bombing at a packed Tel Aviv fast-food restaurant during the Passover holiday that killed nine people and injured dozens.

POPE Benedict XVI formally began his stewardship of the Roman Catholic Church yesterday, reaching out to Jews, other Christians and “non-believers alike”.

Four accomplices in the deadliest ever Palestinian suicide bombing were given 29 consecutive life sentences each yesterday – one for each Israeli killed in last year’s blast at a seaside hotel.

Israeli troops took control of the largest city in the West Bank today as hundreds of Palestinian gunmen barricaded in a nearby refugee camp put up fierce resistance.