Israeli leaders criticised the new Palestinian unity government today, saying the Hamas-Fatah coalition did not meet international conditions, including recognising the Jewish state’s right to exist.

Tentative talks between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at restarting the stalled peace process could begin next month, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during meetings in Europe to rally support from British and German leaders.

Israel and the Palestinians can wrap up a final peace deal within two years, Israel’s deputy defence minister Ephraim Sneh said today, becoming the first senior Israeli official to propose a timeline for long-stalled peace talks

The government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi today announced a three-day official mourning period and cancelled all celebrations of Eid.

In an effort to shore up a shaky truce in the Gaza Strip, Israeli military officials today said they were reducing their operations in the West Bank and had made it more difficult for field commanders to order arrest raids there.

Israel’s deputy defence minister today suggested Israel might be forced to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear programme – the clearest statement yet of this possibility from a high-ranking Israeli official.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry today insisted their newly opened heavy-water production plant was a peaceful project and not associated with Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.

The Israeli army will move deeper into southern Lebanon and hold on to that territory for several weeks, until a multinational force can deploy there, senior Israeli officials said today.

ISRAELI officials convened emergency meetings yesterday to decide how to respond to the militant Hamas group’s upset victory in Palestinian elections, maintaining an outward silence while privately blaming each other for the upheaval.

FORMER Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who almost reached a peace deal with Yasser Arafat, announced yesterday he will seek the leadership of the opposition Labour Party.

In signs of a potential thaw in relations between historic enemies, Libyan and Israeli officials have held at least two meetings in recent months, Israeli media reported today.

Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s son and Yasser Arafat’s security adviser, were meeting in London today at the start of a two-day conference on implementation of a US-backed peace plan.

Israel’s battered opposition Labour Party has chosen an old hand as its new leader, electing elder statesman Shimon Peres, the symbol of peacemaking with the Palestinians, as its chairman for one year.

An Israeli government official today accused Egypt of trying to meddle in politics – bringing into the open a rift over Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s overtures to the Israeli left and his harsh criticism of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

ISRAELI troops demolished the homes of four Palestinian terror suspects and raided a Gaza Strip town yesterday, as negotiators failed to reach agreement, but scheduled more talks on a gradual Israeli troop pullback from some Palestinian areas.

Israeli troops demolished the homes of four Palestinian terror suspects and raided a Gaza Strip town today, as talks stalled on the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from some Palestinian areas.

Mideast truce talks ended in failure early today as both sides argued over who should take the first steps, and hours later Israeli soldiers raided three West Bank villages.

Palestinian security officials said the 250 Israeli tanks that moved into Ramallah on Tuesday, paralysing the West Bank commercial and administrative centre, began rolling out of the town and the adjacent Amari refugee camp after 2am.

Israeli troops have raided three Palestinian towns and a refugee camp in the most extensive military operation in the Gaza Strip in 16 months of fighting.

Palestinian gunmen shot dead an Israeli soldier and wounded another in a retaliatory shooting hours after a Palestinian militia leader was killed by a bomb as he emerged from his West Bank hideout.

Israel stands accused of returning to assassination as a weapon after a Palestinian militia leader was blown up outside his West Bank hideout.

Cracks emerged in Israel’s ruling coalition today after members of the moderate Labour party, led by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, boycotted a cabinet vote on tougher action against the Palestinians.

President George Bush has decided how many nuclear weapons he could safely cut from the US arsenal - a big step toward an agreement with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The Palestinian Authority today said it had uncovered an Israeli plot to assassinate Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat - an accusation immediately dismissed by Israel.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was today addressing a governing socialist party convention and meeting Greek political leaders.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in Athens today to attend a governing socialist party convention and meet with Greek political leaders.

A chartered Russian airliner heading from Israel to Siberia exploded at 36,000 feet today and plummeted into the Black Sea coast with 78 people on board.

Israeli tanks rolled into a Palestinian village on the southern fringes of Jerusalem today, killing a Palestinian, in an effort to halt persistent gunfire raining on a nearby Jewish neighbourhood.

Palestinians fired mortars at a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and a farming village in Israel overnight, drawing Israeli return fire that seriously wounded a supporter of the Islamic militant group Hamas.

One person has died and nine others have been injured after a bomb exploded in a taxi van in northern Israel.

Israeli helicopter gunships unleashed a fatal pinpoint strike on a car carrying a Palestinian security agent as the man drove on the outskirts of a refugee camp today.

Palestinians have buried an 18-year-old woman killed in crossfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen as the US pushed to quell violence ahead of any peace talks.