Palestina

ISMAILIA, Egypt – Israel has agreed to allow 550 Palestinians who have been stranded in Egypt for roughly four months to cross into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday via the Jewish state, Egyptian security and border sources said.

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has barred new construction work, building planning and occupancy tenders at West Bank settlements without his approval, documents show.

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency) Iran said it hoped Palestinian issue would be resolved through the implementation of a Tehran plan which calls for the restoration of Palestinians’ rights.

ISMAILIA, Egypt – Stranded Palestinian haj pilgrims protesting at Egypt’s refusal to allow them to return to Gaza through a Hamas-controlled crossing, smashed furniture and windows at a shelter on Monday, a security source said.

GAZA – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction will limit its anniversary celebrations in Hamas-run Gaza to candles and fireworks this week for fear a rally — banned by the Islamist group — will spark violence.

JERUSALEM – The number of people killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dropped sharply in 2007, but human rights abuses in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank increased, an Israeli human rights watchdog said on Monday.

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out relaxing Israel’s grip on the occupied West Bank until the Palestinians rein in militants after a shooting attack killed two off-duty Israeli soldiers.

RAMALLAH, West Bank – The top Palestinian security official said on Saturday his government was dismantling militant groups, including those connected to President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip – Hamas Islamists called on Egypt on Saturday to open its shuttered border crossing with the Gaza Strip to let more than 2,000 Palestinians return to their Gaza homes from the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca.

GAZA – Hamas Islamists who control the Gaza Strip have barred supporters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction from holding an anniversary rally for the movement next week, Hamas officials said on Saturday.