RAMALLAH (AP) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday denied recent Israeli news reports that secret peace talks have made progress on some of the most sensitive issues at the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

AMMAN  – Hamas supremo Khaled Mishaal said efforts to end the bitter feud with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were deadlocked because of Israeli and US meddling, and insisted his men would stay in control of Gaza.

LEBANESE AUTHORITIES HAVE arrested two Palestinians in connection with a roadside bombing that targeted UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon last month, a security official said Thursday.