Palestinian state 'may have to be abandoned'

It may be time for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "tell his people the truth", chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Wednesday.

Israel defiant as Gaza toll rises

Israel was facing widespread international condemnation on Sunday for its onslaught in Gaza, as the United Nations and European Union demanded an end to a "disproportionate" response to Palestinian rocket attacks, which were also denounced.

UN slams Israel after bloody day in Gaza

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel for using "excessive" force in the Gaza Strip and demanded a halt to its offensive after troops killed 61 people on the bloodiest day for Palestinians since the 1980s. The 1,5-million Palestinians crammed into the blockaded, 45km sliver of coast, enjoyed a relative respite early on Sunday from Israeli air strikes and raids.

Israel kills 52 in Gaza, two soldiers killed

Israel killed 52 Palestinians on Saturday in its deadliest and deepest incursion into the Gaza Strip since pulling out in 2005, stoking fears of a broader conflict that could derail renewed United States-backed peace talks. At least 29 of the dead were civilians, among them women and children, said Palestinian doctors who were working round the clock.

Israel and Palestine fail to agree before conference

A meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders has failed to produce a joint declaration for a Middle East summit due next week in the United States, after they could not resolve key differences. The declaration that diplomats originally expected Israel and the Palestinians to agree on has yet to be agreed.

Gruelling road ahead for Rice on Middle East peace

The battle over the agenda of a conference on Palestinian statehood offers United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a glimpse of the gruelling process that awaits if and when the two sides enter formal negotiations. Four days of shuttle diplomacy by Rice this week were not enough to close the gaps.

Gaza children 'were playing next to rocket launcher'

The Israeli military said on Friday that three Gaza children killed this week were playing next to a rocket launcher when the army mistook them for militants and opened fire. The three young cousins were killed on Wednesday when Israeli troops combating Palestinian rocket squads spotted figures moving near rocket launchers in northern Gaza.

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