Palestine – News Stories About Palestine - Page 16

UPDATED

Jan 25, 2008 7:36 AM CST

Gazans Reopen Border Wall

Moves comes after Egypt tried to seal border

(Newser) - Hours after Egypt began sealing its breached border with Gaza, Palestinians reopened a new hole in the wall with a bulldozer, the BBC reports. Egyptian security forces had begun using human chains and water cannons this morning to stem the flow of Palestinians, but authorities offered little resistance when the...

Gaza City Shuts Off Power Amid Claimed Fuel Shortage

Jan 20, 2008 3:17 PM CST

Gaza City Shuts Off Power Amid Claimed Fuel Shortage

Israelis say move meant to create crisis

(Newser) - Gaza City’s sole power plant has shut down due to what Palestinian officials claim are insufficient fuel supplies, the BBC reports. Israel—which provides 60% of Gaza’s electricity—closed its border last week with the Gaza Strip, preventing the import of virtually all supplies. The move followed a...

Gaza Violence Endangers Peace Talks

Jan 19, 2008 9:53 AM CST

Gaza Violence Endangers Peace Talks

Bombs, rockets fly; UN decries closing of border crossings

(Newser) - Israeli bombs yesterday flattened a Hamas-run ministry on the Gaza Strip, and Israel also shut down Gaza border crossings.Cranking up pressure on Hamas to exert more control over militants who have stepped up rocket attacks, Israel killed at least 34 Palestinians this week, Reuters reports. The Palestinians cautioned that...

Israeli Right Wingers Abandon Olmert

Jan 16, 2008 11:16 AM CST

Israeli Right Wingers Abandon Olmert

Group withdraws from coalition, condemns peace talks

(Newser) - Ehud Olmert’s coalition government is hanging by a thread today after the defection of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, a hardline right-wing faction staunchly opposed to peace talks with the Palestinians. “Negotiations on the basis of land for peace are a critical mistake and will destroy us,” said...

Mideast Talks Tackle
'Core Issues'

Jan 14, 2008 10:45 AM CST

Mideast Talks Tackle 'Core Issues'

Two parties threaten to leave Olmert's governing coalition

(Newser) - Talks opened today between high-level Israeli and Palestinian negotiators as leaders on both sides faced intensifying criticism from within their own camps. Israeli PM Ehud Olmert was threatened with the withdrawal of two political parties from his governing coalition if sensitive subjects such as a divided Jerusalem are broached, and...

Bush Calls for End to Israeli 'Occupation'

Jan 10, 2008 11:35 AM CST

Bush Calls for End to Israeli 'Occupation'

Says 'swiss cheese' state won't do for Palestine

(Newser) - In a historic visit to the West Bank, President Bush today called on Israel to “end the occupation that began in 1967,” to make way for a Palestinian state. He also said that state would have to be contiguous. “Swiss cheese isn’t going to work,”...

Bush in Israel on Peace Mission

Jan 9, 2008 6:32 AM CST

Bush in Israel on Peace Mission

President hopes to accelerate talks, but Olmert's position is fragile

(Newser) - George W. Bush has arrived in Tel Aviv for his first presidential visit to Israel, where he hopes to boost momentum on the peace talks launched in Annapolis. Haaretz reports that both President Shimon Peres and PM Ehud Olmert met the president at the airport. Overshadowing the visit, though, is...

Lebanon Rocket Strikes Israel

Jan 8, 2008 5:02 AM CST

Lebanon Rocket Strikes Israel

Latest violence in advance of Bush visit

(Newser) - A rocket launched from Lebanon exploded in northern Israel before dawn today, causing no injuries but serving as a potential harbinger of other attacks in advance of President Bush's three-day trip to Israel that begins tomorrow. Israeli authorities blamed the attack on the Jihadi Badr Brigades, which also attacked from...

Olmert: Divided Jerusalem
Is Inevitable

Jan 2, 2008 6:22 AM CST

Olmert: Divided Jerusalem Is Inevitable

Says new Palestinian state is his first priority

(Newser) - Israelis must accept that Jerusalem will probably be divided if and when a Palestinian state is established, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said in a New Year's interview, charging that his political rivals have not "internalized" that reality, and their reluctance threatens the future of Israel. "The world that...

Priests Brawl With Brooms
at Church of
the Nativity

Dec 29, 2007 6:58 AM CST

Priests Brawl With Brooms at Church of the Nativity

Punch-up in Bethlehem injures 5 priests, 2 cops

(Newser) - A holiday cleanup at the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born turned ugly Thursday, as Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows, the Times of London reports. Robed priests pummeled each other with brooms and stones in the Church of the Nativity...

Israel Won't Freeze Settlement Activity

Dec 27, 2007 2:04 PM CST

Israel Won't Freeze Settlement Activity

Construction plans stymie peace talks

(Newser) - Israel-Palestine negotiations hit a stumbling block today as Israeli PM Ehud Olmert rejected Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' call for an end to all settlement activity, Reuters reports. The impasse has been exacerbated by Israel's announcement of new plans to construct hundreds of houses near East Jerusalem, the proposed site of...

Olmert, Abbas to Meet to Salvage Talks

Dec 26, 2007 9:30 AM CST

Olmert, Abbas to Meet to Salvage Talks

Contested settlement threatens to undo Annapolis process

(Newser) - Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas will meet tomorrow in hopes of resolving the settlement crisis that is threatening to derail the Annapolis peace process. Haaretz reports that the Israeli PM and the Palestinian leader will discuss a contested tender by the Israeli housing ministry for 307 homes to be constructed...

A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem

Dec 25, 2007 6:09 AM CST

A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem

West Bank town sees its first calm Christmas in years; tourism rebounds

(Newser) - This Christmas a huge number of tourists and pilgrims have made their way to Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The mayor of the town of Jesus' birth predicted at least 65,000 visitors this Christmas, quadruple the figure just two years ago, CTV reports. The...

Israel Plans
to Expand Settlements

Dec 23, 2007 9:28 PM CST

Israel Plans to Expand Settlements

West Bank building plans do not help peace talks with Palestinians

(Newser) - The road to Arab-Israeli peace could take yet another detour, the New York Times says, after Israel announced plans today to seek funding for the expansion of two Jewish settlements in areas Palestinians hope to claim for a future state. The two sides are expected to meet tomorrow, but Palestine’...

US to Privately Grade Mideast Peace Plan

Dec 23, 2007 4:02 PM CST

US to Privately Grade Mideast Peace Plan

Critics question secret oversight; official says it avoids public blame

(Newser) - Washington will secretly score Israeli and Palestinian adherence to the "road map" peace plan and hash out results with each side, Reuters reports. US diplomats plan to report to the White House on Israeli settlement growth and Palestinian vows to curb militants, two keys to the peace deal—but...

Olmert Nixes Hamas Truce: 'This War Will Continue'

Dec 23, 2007 12:19 PM CST

Olmert Nixes Hamas Truce: 'This War Will Continue'

Says Palestinian militants must first cease attacks, recognize Israel

(Newser) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today refused to consider a truce with Hamas until the militant Palestinian group recognizes Israel and halts attacks in Gaza, reports the BBC. Olmert told government officials that Israel is gaining ground in stopping rocket attacks, of which 1,000 have hit Israel since Hamas...

Christmas Opens in Bethlehem

Dec 16, 2007 5:07 PM CST

Christmas Opens in Bethlehem

Resumed peace talks give holiday tourism a bump to 65K tourists

(Newser) - The lighting of a four-story tree yesterday in Bethlehem kicked off a joyous season of increased tourism, reports the AP, amid a backdrop of resumed Mideast peace talks. Some 65,000 foreigners are expected to visit the West Bank town this season, the AP reports; only 16,000 visited the...

In Gaza, 150,000 Cheer Hamas

Dec 15, 2007 1:01 PM CST

In Gaza, 150,000 Cheer Hamas

PM calls for uprisings against Israeli occupation

(Newser) - Crowds filled Gaza City streets today, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hamas in what BBC analysts are calling a critical test of public support. At least 150,000 rallied amid waving flags and banners as Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya preached “resistance and jihad,” blasting his moderate Fatah...

Queen's Digs Found in Holy Land

Dec 7, 2007 7:05 AM CST

Queen's Digs Found in Holy Land

Queen lived among the poor of ancient Jerusalem

(Newser) - Queen Helene of Adiabene, ruler of parts of Iraq, apparently had a pied-a-terre in the seedy part of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, according to an archaeological team that has unearthed the mansion. Now it’s prime real estate in the Arab quarter, forming the foundation of a parking lot...

6,000 Miles to Graceland

Dec 3, 2007 2:55 PM CST

6,000 Miles to Graceland

Elvis restaurant and shrine offers common ground in a divided land

(Newser) - It has to be the quirkiest stop on the Holy Land pilgrimage: The Elvis Inn, near Jerusalem, where impersonators will converge Jan. 8 for the annual celebration of the King's birthday. With a life-sized statue near the gas pumps and 1,720 pictures of Elvis inside, the diner 6,000...