TEL AVIV (AP) — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday rejected a US advisory group’s conclusions that Israel must talk to Syria and solve its conflict with the Palestinians to help the Bush administration stabilise Iraq.

RAMALLAH (AP) — Leave Hamas in power for now, but call elections once the economic crisis in the Palestinian territories worsens further — that’s the emerging consensus of a panel advising President Mahmoud Abbas on how to handle the Islamists, a member of the group said Thursday.

BEIRUT (AFP) — Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed Thursday that the Lebanese opposition will not “surrender” in its mass protests to bring down the Western-backed government.