Middle Orient

As Arab ministers fly in to Washington for this week’s Annapolis conference on making peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the most notable absentee is Hamas, winner of last year’s Palestinian general election.

Most Palestinians are skeptical Tuesday’s Annapolis peace conference can speed the creation of a state of their own but many still hope it may lead to improvements in living conditions and security.

Syria said on Sunday it would attend a U.S.-led conference aimed at launching talks to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, giving another boost to U.S. efforts to enlist wide Arab support a new peace drive.

Israel said on Sunday it believed Syria had decided to attend this week’s U.S.-hosted conference about Palestinian statehood.

Jordan’s pro-U.S. King Abdullah swore in on Sunday a reform-minded government charged with speeding up modernization of the kingdom.

Lebanese opposition group Hezbollah said on Sunday that failure to reach agreement on a new president in the week ahead could leave the divided country without a head of state for a long time.

A bill that would ease curbs on former Baathists was presented to Iraq’s parliament on Sunday, but a row quickly erupted and forced postponement of debate on a draft law seen as vital to fostering national reconciliation.

Following are security developments in Iraq at 6 a.m. EST on Sunday.* denotes new or updated items. * MOSUL – A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol wounded six people in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Afghan and NATO-led forces killed 65 Taliban rebels when they called in air strikes as the insurgents smuggling weapons across the border from Pakistan, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

Iran said on Sunday a Middle East conference organized by the United States would result in an erosion of Palestinian rights because Washington had shown in the past that it was not an objective mediator.