Mideast Conflict

BEIRUT (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will make a brief visit to Lebanon next week for talks with President Michel Sleiman on relations and the plight of Palestinian refugees, officials said on Thursday. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - In a confidential report obtained by AFP on Thursday, the European Union accused Israel of actively pursuing the annexation of Arab east Jerusalem and undermining hopes for peace with Palestinians. Full Story »

PARIS (AFP) - Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni said Thursday she had discussed the need for a quick resumption of Middle East peace talks during her meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A proposal before the European Union to endorse the division of Jerusalem would risk closing off half the city to non-Muslims, according to a think tank close to the Israeli government. Full Story »

AMSTERDAM - The newly elected chemical weapons chief says he will pursue the last seven holdouts — including Israel, Egypt and Syria — to get them to sign a disarmament treaty and submit weapons stockpiles for inspection. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday ruled out freeing one of the Palestinians' most popular leaders in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel last year stripped a record number of Palestinians of their Jerusalem residency status, and the accompanying freedom of movement and insurance benefits, government figures revealed on Wednesday. Full Story »

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon's cabinet on Wednesday adopted a policy statement granting Hezbollah the right to use its arms against Israel, despite the reservations of Christian ministers in the Western-backed majority. Full Story »

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's new government Wednesday endorsed Hezbollah's right to keep its weapons, the latest sign that the group has no intention of meeting a U.N. resolution calling for it to disarm. Full Story »

JERUSALEM - An American convicted of spying for Israel is reportedly proposing that Israel kill Hamas prisoners rather than swap them for a captive Israeli soldier. Full Story »

GAZA CITY (AFP) - The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Wednesday it was facing an "unprecedented" budget deficit that could force it to cut back on services to more than 4.7 million people. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel stripped Palestinians of Jerusalem residency status last year at a faster rate than at any time in the history of the Jewish state, an Israeli rights group said on Wednesday, citing official Israeli statistics. Full Story »

JERUSALEM - The brother of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has knocked an Israeli sports reporter unconscious. Full Story »

GAZA CITY (AFP) - A senior fighter from the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement died on Wednesday in a tunnel collapse in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medics and the armed group. Full Story »

BEIRUT (AFP) - Hezbollah's new political platform signals a shift in its position as it seeks to portray itself as an integral part of Lebanon's domestic scene rather than an Iranian proxy, analysts said Tuesday. Full Story »

BRUSSELS (AFP) - A row broke out between Israel and the European Union Tuesday over a draft EU proposal that east Jerusalem should become the capital of a future Palestinian state as part of a Middle East peace deal. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Palestinians and foreign activists on Tuesday attacked Israeli settlers who had seized a disputed house in mostly Arab east Jerusalem armed with an Israeli court order, an AFP photographer said. Full Story »

KIRYAT ARBA, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli inspectors trying to enforce a government moratorium on new building starts in Jewish settlements ran into defiance Tuesday at an enclave in the occupied West Bank. Full Story »