Palestina

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Plans to rein in Palestinian government spending and boost foreign aid will not be enough to revive the Palestinian economy if Israeli restrictions stay in place, the World Bank said on Thursday.

Ramallah – Ma’an – Khalid Mash’al, head of the Hamas politburo, has said that Hamas is ready to form a central government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a gesture to resume negotiations between Hamas and Fatah.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinians will attend peace talks this week despite a plan by Israel to build new homes on occupied land, but will focus on demanding a settlement freeze, senior Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned Israel for restarting settlement activity after a promise to stop building on occupied land helped persuade Riyadh to attend U.S.-brokered peace talks in Annapolis last month.

GAZA (Reuters) – About 30 Israeli tanks and armored vehicles pushed as far as 2.5 miles into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Tuesday, sparking clashes with Palestinians that killed at least three militants, medics and militants said.

GAZA (Reuters) – An Israeli air strike killed a militant who was trying to launch rockets from the northern Gaza Strip and another died in an explosion in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, militant sources, medics and the army said.

The European Union joined the United States on Monday in expressing concern about new Israeli settlement activity and urged Israel to stick to its commitments in Middle East peace efforts.

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip on Friday, local medical workers said.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he did not oppose dialogue with rival Hamas Islamists but reiterated the group must first relinquish control of the Gaza Strip.

TULKARM, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s government stepped up a Western-backed crackdown on gunmen on Tuesday by deploying hundreds of security officers in the West Bank city of Tulkarm.