SYRIAN security forces opened fire on protesters in several parts of the country yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding scores, while masked gunmen burst into an apartment in the predominantly Kurdish north-east and shot dead one of Syria’s most prominent opposition figures.

Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in several parts of the country today, killing at least eight people and wounding scores, while masked gunmen burst into an apartment in the predominantly Kurdish north-east and shot dead one of Syria’s most prominent opposition figures.

Foreign Affairs minister Micheál Martin has said the three Irish passports used by a group of operatives who allegedly assassinated a Hamas commander in Dubai had valid numbers, reversing his department's position of a day earlier.

FORMER US president Jimmy Carter said yesterday that Hamas — the Islamic militant group that has called for the destruction of Israel — is prepared to accept the right of the Jewish state to “live as a neighbour next door in peace”.

Former US president Jimmy Carter defied American and Israeli warnings and met the exiled leader of Hamas and the militant group’s deputy chief.

Former US President Jimmy Carter defied American and Israeli warnings today and met the exiled leader of Hamas and the militant group's deputy chief.

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal today apologised for mistakes made during last month’s bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip, saying they were individual acts that do not represent Fatah policies.

The supreme leader of Hamas has promised that the militant group will end missile attacks and other violence against Israel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today.

Russia will work for international support of the Palestinian Authority power-sharing arrangement and for the lifting of the crippling international aid blockade, the foreign minister said today.

Rival Palestinian leaders have signed an agreement on a power-sharing government in Saudi-brokered talks.

Rival Palestinian leaders began crucial talks in the Saudi holy city of Mecca today, vowing to reach a power-sharing agreement to avert civil war between them, a key step toward resuming the peace process with Israel.

Rival Palestinian delegations met in the dark hours of the morning as they prepared for crucial talks in the Saudi holy city Macca today on ending their bloody street battles and resuming the peace process with Israel.

Saudi Arabia brought the two main Palestinian leaders to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, today for a last-ditch attempt to end their bloody conflict and complete a power-sharing agreement on a coalition government.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will finalise an agreement to share power with Hamas in meetings this week in Saudi Arabia, a senior Fatah official said today.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Hamas’ top leader in Saudi Arabia next week in another effort to negotiate a national unity government agreement, an aide to Abbas said today.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’ exiled chief failed to resolve an increasingly bitter dispute and form a unity government, dashing hopes for a quick end to the political crisis.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’ exiled chief tonight failed to resolve an increasingly bitter dispute and form a unity government.

Significant progress has been made in the Middle East during secret coalition talks between the supreme Hamas leader and aides of moderate Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, officials from both sides said today.

Israeli troops shot and killed a Hamas-linked militant in a West Bank raid this morning, casting a cloud over a day-old truce that ended more than five months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding this morning, stopping Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli operations for the first time in five months.

Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal said today his group was willing to give peace negotiations six months to reach an agreement for a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, but threatened a new uprising if talks fail.

A 64-year-old grandmother became the oldest Palestinian suicide bomber when she blew herself up near Israeli troops.

Israel will keep targeting Palestinian rocket squads in Gaza despite the risk of inadvertently hitting civilians, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting this weekend to forge a response to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 50 people in the past few days, the head of the Arab League said today.

HAMAS chief Khaled Mashaal says that a truce with Israel is now finished and is appealing to all Palestinian factions to resume attacks.

Israel has accused the Iranian government of paying around £25m (€37.3m) to Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to block a deal that would have freed an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas-linked militants who crossed from Gaza into Israel on June 25.

A 14-year-old girl was killed today in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops raided southern Gaza early today, killing at least eight Palestinians, including four militants and an eight-year-old boy, in the latest stage of their month-long offensive, Palestinian officials said.

Israeli leaders approved new incursions into the Gaza Strip, security officials said today, after the Hamas leader said he would not free an Israeli soldier whose capture by Palestinian militants led to a bloody 13-day confrontation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today that freeing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier would be a “major mistake”.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today ignored a deadline to free Palestinian prisoners and instead ordered the army to target ”terrorists” and their backers, in an apparent threat against Syria.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert today ignored a deadline to begin releasing Palestinian prisoners and instead issued a veiled threat against Syria, vowing to strike “those who sponsor” the militants in the Gaza Strip who seized a young Israeli soldier.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert stepped up pressure on the Palestinian government, ordering his military to “do all it can” to free an abducted soldier and hinting Israel may arrest Hamas leaders in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stepped up pressure on the Palestinian government today, ordering his military to “do all it can” to free an abducted soldier and hinting Israel may arrest Hamas leaders in Gaza.

Arab officials today reacted with concern to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, criticising Israel for causing suffering to Gaza residents and citing Israeli warplanes’ buzzing of the Syrian president’s home as especially troubling.

Israeli forces rounded up dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and MPs from Hamas today, increasing pressure on the Islamic militants to release a captured Israeli soldier.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza could jeopardise the life of an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants, a senior Hamas official said today.

An Israeli Cabinet minister today said that Hamas’ Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal, is a target for assassination for ordering the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Hamas followers gathered to donate money and jewellery to their cash-strapped government, while a Western boycott stirred debate inside the militant group over whether to accept a state alongside Israel.

Dozens of Hamas gunmen today rushed to the aid of a Cabinet minister after he was confronted by angry gunmen, sparking a shoot-out that left three people wounded in the latest explosion of infighting in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas put himself on a collision course with Hamas after blocking the party’s plan to set up a security force of 4,000 militants.

Russia’s foreign minister said he expects the Palestinian group Hamas to move closer to meeting international demands within two weeks – including setting up foreign aid monitoring and recognising Israel, according to a newspaper interview published today.

Russia’s foreign minister warned Hamas today that the Palestinian militant group must become an essentially political movement whose militant wing could be subsumed into the recognised Palestinian “security structures.”

Hamas’ political leader today reaffirmed the organisation’s hard stance at the start of a three-day visit to Russia aimed at denting the Palestinian militant group’s international isolation.