Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a unity government, taking a major step toward ending a territorial and political split with the rival Hamas militant group but also setting the stage for new friction with Israel.

Israel has broken off Middle East peace talks and brought the US-brokered process to the brink of collapse.

Israel has broken off Middle East peace talks and brought the US-brokered process to the brink of collapse.

Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners yesterday, days before US secretary of state John Kerry was due back in the Middle East to press the two sides to reach a framework peace deal.

The winner of reality show Arab Idol can’t stop adding titles.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad has resigned, according to officials.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has returned home to a hero’s welcome after winning a resounding endorsement for Palestinian independence at the United Nations.

The Palestinians are certain to win UN recognition as a state today but have been warned it could delay hopes of achieving an independent state through peace talks with Israel.

Israel’s president welcomed apparent concession by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a core issue in peace talks – Palestinian refugees.

A Palestinian atheist who was jailed and beaten last year for expressing anti-Muslim views on Facebook and in blogs says Palestinian security forces are harassing him again, despite government pledges to respect human rights.

THOUSANDS of cheering Palestinians gave President Mahmoud Abbas a hero’s welcome in the West Bank yesterday.

Thousands of Palestinians cheering and waving flags gave President Mahmoud Abbas a hero’s welcome in the West Bank today, as he told them triumphantly a “Palestinian Spring” had been born following his historic speech to the UN last week.

Mahmoud Abbas’ bold bid for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood is doomed to fail but has won him admiration at home and re-energised international efforts to seek a negotiated settlement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is preparing to submit his bid for UN recognition of Palestine as an independent state today in defiance of a US-led bid to stop him. He said he would deliver the application to UN chief Ban Ki-moon as planned.

Israel’s prime minister is ready to sit down with the Palestinian president for continuous one-on-one talks until they reach a peace deal.

Dozens of senior Palestinians backed President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to negotiate with Israel as long as it builds in West Bank settlements.

US president Barack Obama challenged Middle East leaders to seize a fleeting opportunity to deliver peace to a region haunted by decades of hostility.

US president Barack Obama wants to sharply limit Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the botched naval raid that is straining American and Israeli relations with allies around the world.

Israel’s prime minister today declared his country would retain parts of the West Bank forever – a statement sure to provoke Palestinians and complicate the year-old peace mission of a visiting US envoy.

MIDEAST peace prospects have been plunged into unknown territory as no prospective leaders emerged publicly yesterday in the aftermath of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s announcement that he doesn’t want another term.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he is pushing for a vote on a United Nation’s report that accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the Gaza war, reversing a decision that has left him at the lowest point of his presidency.

THE Israeli and Palestinian leaders shook hands at the start of their first face- to-face meeting yesterday, hosted by President Barack Obama, but the small gesture was unlikely to translate into a quick resumption of peace talks.

Israeli authorities broke up a series of Palestinian cultural events as part of a crackdown in Jerusalem, disrupting a children’s march and bursting balloons at a school celebration.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad submitted his resignation today, a move that could help pave the way for an elusive power-sharing deal between Palestinian moderates and militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert threatened painful retaliation against Gaza militants today for rockets still hitting Israel six weeks after its military halted an offensive that was supposed to have stopped them for good.

Israel looks set to elect a new hardline government in elections tomorrow.

Israel will shortly release 229 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the western-backed government of President Mahmoud Abbas, it was announced today.

A Palestinian driving a bulldozer went on a deadly rampage in Jerusalem today, killing at least three people and wounding 45 before he was shot dead by security officers.

Two Israeli security guards have been killed in an attack by a Palestinian militant near the West Bank town of Tulkarem.

Palestinian factions meeting in Yemen have ended five days of reconciliation talks without agreeing on who will control the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed the army to reduce airstrikes and raids into the Gaza Strip in response to a recent drop in rocket fire from the territory.

Israel has mobilised police and the military to keep a Hamas demonstration today against its Gaza blockade from turning into a mass border breakout.

At least one person was killed today and six others injured, one critically, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the southern Israeli town which houses the country’s nuclear reactor, authorities said.

Gazans were driving into Egypt for the first time in large numbers today, after Hamas militants with bulldozers cleared a path for vehicles at the breached border.

Palestinian police sealed off large parts of the West Bank city of Ramallah today, in an unprecedented operation to secure George Bush’s first visit as US president to the volatile Palestinian territories.

TWO off-duty Israeli soldiers hiking in the West Bank were killed yesterday by Palestinian gunmen but managed to fire at their assailants and kill one of them.

Hamas marked the 20th anniversary of its founding with a huge rally today, sending a message of strength and defiance even as it is struggling to keep Gaza afloat.

The first formal peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in seven years got off to a rocky start today.

TEARFUL friends and relatives, some cheering or waving flags, welcomed 429 Palestinian prisoners after their early release by Israel yesterday in a gesture meant to strengthen moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

US President George Bush told the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories he is personally committed to their mission of peace, urging them to stick with it and not lose sight of their goal.

President George Bush invited the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the White House today to officially inaugurate the first formal, direct negotiations in seven years.

Palestinian militants Hamas stepped up their verbal attacks on President Mahmoud Abbas today on the eve of the US Middle East conference, saying his policies had failed and undermined prospects for statehood and unity.

Israel today approved the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and promised not to build new settlements in the West Bank as a prelude to vital peace talks.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today called for the overthrow of Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers in his first explicit demand for their removal.