The State Department on Sunday condemned remarks by a prominent Israeli rabbi advocating divinely ordained death for the Palestinians and their leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas every two weeks once direct peace talks resume next week, Israeli officials said Saturday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that it would be unacceptable to extend a slowdown on West Bank settlement construction, even as Mideast peace talks get under way next week.
The Palestinian leader has warned President Obama that he will pull out of upcoming peace talks if Israel ends a slowdown of West Bank settlement construction, a Palestinian negotiator said Monday.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that are set to begin next week in Washington may be scuttled before they even get going. Israel has yet to commit to extending a freeze on construction of settlements that the Palestinian side says it needs to continue negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spelled out his opening position for the new round of Mideast peace talks set to begin next week, insisting Sunday on key security conditions and saying an agreement would be "difficult but possible."
Plunging into the Mideast peacemaker's role that has defeated so many U.S. leaders, President Barack Obama on Friday invited Israel and the Palestinians to try anew in face-to-face talks in Washington for a historic agreement to establish an independent Palestinian state and secure peace for Israel.
The NATO force in Afghanistan said Monday it had killed an al Qaeda cell leader after he was pinpointed by alliance aircraft while carrying out an attack on a police post.
The Obama administration is optimistic that the Palestinian Authority will return to direct talks with Israel after nearly two years of shunning face-to-face negotiations.
