Middle Orient

BEIRUT, Sept. 25 – A Shiite Hezbollah delegation has visited Sunni majority leader MP Saad Hariri at his residence in Beirut for the first time in two years, local As-Safier Daily reported on Thursday.

Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)  Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)

LONDON, Sept – The British Government continues to adhere to its commitment to work for a two state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a UK special envoy for the region reaffirmed Thursday.

A group of prominent aid agencies warned Thursday that the lives of Palestinians had not improved and may have worsened since the Annapolis conference last November.

GAZA, Sept. 25 – The political Advisor of the ousted Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, Ahmed Yousef, called on the international Quartet to reconsider its position towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Quartet of international powers has “lost its grip” on the Middle East peace process which it is meant to foster, a group of aid agencies says.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s West Bank barrier is fuelling attacks by East Jerusalem Arabs who feel isolated from fellow Palestinians and are increasingly likely to lash out independently, Israel’s domestic spy service said on Wednesday.

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) – At a checkpoint consisting of a wooden shack wrapped in steel sheets, five young Iraqis with AK-47 rifles have the task of stopping al Qaeda bombers striking the ancient city of Samarra.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s parliament passed a provincial elections law on Wednesday after months of arguing between Arabs and Kurds, and called for the vote to be held before January 31 next year, legislators said.

Gunmen have killed at least 20 people in an ambush to the north-east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials say.