The leader of Israel’s Labour Party today rebuffed Ariel Sharon’s invitation to formal coalition negotiations, but said he might change his mind if the prime minister agreed to an unconditional renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians.

Israeli troops shot dead an unarmed Palestinian fugitive in the West Bank today after they caught him hiding on a rooftop.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon failed yesterday to persuade Labour Party chief Amram Mitzna to join a broad coalition government.

The Israeli army demolished nine houses belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron, making dozens homeless.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is trying to arrange a meeting with US President George Bush to discuss a Mideast peace plan.

ISRAELI soldiers killed two Palestinians in a major West Bank raid yesterday after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rebuffed a post-election olive branch extended by Yasser Arafat.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, riding high on a sweeping victory by his right-wing Likud party, yesterday grappled with how to forge a lasting coalition after an election that redrew Israel’s political map.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s hawkish Likud Party appeared headed for a convincing general election victory last night.

Ariel Sharon’s hawkish Likud Party appeared set for a convincing victory in elections today, but the urgent challenges of forming a stable government amid the turmoil of the Palestinian uprising will give him little time to savour victory.

OPINION polls have shown Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's party ahead of its rivals heading into today's ballot, while Israeli security forces barred Palestinians from entering Israel in advance of the national elections.

Three people were killed in a Palestinian shooting attack south of the West Bank city of Hebron today, witnesses and rescue services said.

Israel’s opposition Labour party today dropped further in three opinion polls, just five days ahead of the country’s general election.

By Dan Williams, Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Likud party appears to be recovering from corruption allegations, new polls published today showed.

ISRAEL'S Labour Party yesterday said it will not join a government led

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday dismissed an appeal by Yasser Arafat for a halt to attacks on Israeli civilians, calling it a ploy to boost the chances of Mr Sharon’s challenger in January 28 elections.

Embattled Ariel Sharon has lashed out at his political rivals, accusing them of trying to unseat him with “despicable lies”.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismissed as "despicable libel" allegations about his involvement in a financial scandal that has cast a shadow over the upcoming Israeli election.

A burgeoning corruption scandal has cost Israeli Prime Minister Sharon his once commanding leading in opinion polls with a general election less than three weeks away.

ISRAEL’S Labour Party is offering the Palestinians parts of Jerusalem and joint administration of disputed holy sites — the most explicit programme of compromise laid out before an election by a major Israeli party.

Israel’s opposition Labour Party will offer the Palestinians parts of Jerusalem and joint administration of disputed holy sites if it wins next month’s general election.

A 16-year-old Palestinian was shot and killed today in the Gaza Strip and another one was wounded as they neared a border fence on the way home from school, witnesses and hospital officials said.

A DEADLY shooting spree yesterday by a pair of Palestinian gunmen at a polling station in northern Israel, and twin attacks on Israeli tourists in faraway Kenya, marred a Likud Party leadership primary in which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was expected to defeat foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amram Mitzna, an unknown on the Israeli political stage a few months ago, was today facing the task of rallying his fractured Labour Party after winning the leadership election on a peace platform.

ISRAEL’S Labour Party held a ballot of its members yesterday to pick a new leader.

Israel’s Labour Party members tonight chose a relative newcomer to politics, former general Amram Mitzna, as their leader to challenge Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Likud in January elections, an exit poll showed.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU was approved as Israel's foreign minister yesterday, bringing him into the Cabinet of the man he seeks to succeed as prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

PRIME Minister Ariel Sharon called early elections yesterday, heralding three months of Israeli political turmoil and deepening uncertainty in the Middle East ahead of a possible US war on Iraq.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded restaurant near a shopping mall in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa today, killing at least 12 people and wounding 40.