ISRAEL

The European Union expressed serious concern on Tuesday about Israel's decision to approve new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, calling them an obstacle to peace and adding to international condemnation.

A new film by Israeli director Samuel Maoz draws on his memories as a young soldier in the 1982 Lebanon war, powerfully rendering fear and claustrophobia by shooting most of the action from inside a tank.

Israel approved on Monday the building of 455 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a move opposed by its U.S. ally and Palestinians but which could pave the way for a construction moratorium sought by Washington.

A 14-year-old Palestinian boy died on Saturday after being wounded in a shooting incident involving Israeli soldiers in the northern border town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinian medical workers said.

The Obama administration rebuked Israel on Friday of approving more construction on occupied land before considering a freeze on such construction, further complicating U.S. efforts to revive Middle East peace talks.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will approve building new settler homes before considering a freeze that could lead to a resumption of peace talks with Palestinians, an aide said on Friday.

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The Toronto International Film Festival is under attack for its decision to present a series of films spotlighting the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, which a group of high-profile artists and celebrities say constitutes complicity in

Researchers in Israel say they have developed a computer program that can decipher previously unreadable ancient texts and possibly lead the way to a Google-like search engine for historical documents.

The market for initial public offerings (IPO) in the Gulf looks set to reopen as stock markets and the oil price recover, and bankers expect a few companies to test the waters when Ramadan ends.

Palestinian leaders on Monday categorically ruled out holding any peace talks with Israel until a full and lasting freeze in Jewish settlement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on a visit to Germany on Thursday that one lesson Israel drew from the Holocaust was that threats to its existence could not go unchallenged and must be nipped in the bud.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he was seeking a formula to enable renewed talks with the Palestinians while permitting Jewish settlers to live normal lives.

An international airport for a future state of Palestine, national institutions and new rail links were listed by the Palestinian prime minister on Tuesday in a government program needing foreign funding.

Israeli aircraft bombed a tunnel under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Tuesday, killing three Palestinians inside, medical workers said.

Iran has not expanded the number of centrifuges enriching uranium at its Natanz nuclear site since the end of May after increasing capacity steadily over the previous three years, diplomats said.

Faced with an economy starting to emerge from recession and stubborn prices pressures, Israel's central bank on Monday raised short-term borrowing costs by a quarter-point to 0.75 percent on Monday to rein in inflation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects no breakthroughs at a meeting this week with a U.S. peace envoy, but hopes talks with the Palestinians can resume within two months, a spokesman said on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refrained from initiating new housing projects in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, hoping to reach common ground with Washington, a government minister said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama, said Tuesday he saw encouraging signs of a softening of Israel's resistance to his call for a freeze on settlement-building in the occupied West Bank.