Opponents of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan for a pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank made last-ditch efforts today to rally support for a vote that could halt the withdrawal.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is exploring the possibility of bringing the opposition Labour Party into his government as he tries to push forward with his plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip, officials said today.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon issued a last-minute appeal to voters in his Likud Party to support his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, saying that rejection in a party referendum today would threaten the country’s future.

Palestinians and Israeli hard-liners rejected statements by US President George W Bush supporting some Israeli settlements in the West Bank and ruling out the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Israel.

Palestinians and Israeli hardliners tonight rejected statements by US President George Bush supporting some Israeli settlements in the West Bank and ruling out the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Israel.

Israeli opposition leaders demanded today that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon step down, following media reports that the state attorney is recommending he be indicted for bribe-taking.

Charly Wegman, Jerusalem

ISRAEL’S Cabinet yesterday narrowly approved a contested prisoner swap with Hezbollah, even though it does not include a Israel’s most famous missing serviceman, an air force navigator captured 17 years ago.

Israel’s Cabinet today narrowly approved a contested prisoner swap with Hezbollah, even though it does not include a Israel’s most famous missing serviceman, an air force navigator captured 17 years ago.

ISRAEL’S cabinet narrowly approved a US-backed Middle East peace plan yesterday, accepting for the first time a timetable for the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but objecting to significant portions of the plan.

ISRAEL shut down the office of a leading Palestinian moderate yesterday as top officials from the two sides met for a second day, bringing out contrasting trends in the 21-month conflict.

A suicide bomber killed at least 19 people and injured more than 120 when he burst into a hotel dining room and blew himself up as Israelis dressed in their holiday best were sitting down to a meal celebrating the Jewish Passover.

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in an Israeli hotel dining room today killing at least 15 people and wounding a more than 100 others.

Israel's use of American-made warplanes in the Middle East conflict has brought new charges from Palestinians that the US Government is leaning heavily in Israel's favour.