Israelis welcome Jewish New Year while skeptical that peace with Palestinians is near

JERUSALEM — Israelis celebrated the Jewish New Year Friday evening, grateful for the recent calm spell in the region but skeptical that the coming year would see the achievement of ever-elusive peace.

Ending latest mission, US envoy fails to win agreement on restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The United States’ top Mideast envoy failed to bridge wide gaps between Israelis and Palestinians as he ended his most intensive attempt yet on Friday, raising questions over President Barack Obama’s efforts to revive peacemaking.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad slams Israel, says Holocaust was a pretext to occupy Palestinian land

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday lashed out at Israel and the West, questioning whether the Holocaust happened and calling it a pretext for occupying Palestinian lands, reiterating anti-Israel rhetoric that has brought him international condemnation.

Hard-liners attack reform leaders in dueling opposition, government rallies in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — Tens of thousands of protesters — many decked out in the green colors of the reform movement and chanting “Death to the dictator!” — rallied Friday in defiance of Iran’s Islamic leadership, clashing with police and confronting state-run anti-Israel rallies.

Israelis welcome Jewish New Year while skeptical that elusive peace is near

JERUSALEM — Israelis were welcoming the Jewish New Year on Friday, grateful for the recent calm spell in the region but skeptical that the coming year would see the achievement of ever-elusive peace.

Palestinian official: US envoy ends Mideast trip without agreement for renewed talks

RAMALLAH, West Bank — President Barack Obama’s special Mideast envoy was unable Friday to bridge wide gaps between Israelis and Palestinians on the terms of renewing peace talks, the chief Palestinian negotiator said.

Israel’s Netanyahu denounces UN Gaza report, calls on world to back right of self-defense

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday rejected the U.N. report alleging Israeli war crimes in its Gaza war this year, warning world leaders that they and their anti-terror forces could be targets for similar charges.

Gazans welcome, Israel rejects UN report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gazans who lost loved ones during Israel’s winter offensive against Hamas militants said Wednesday they’re taking some solace from a U.N. report that accuses both sides of committing war crimes, but they’re skeptical anyone will be brought to justice.

US envoy fails to wrest Israel concession on settlements, will press Israeli PM more this week

JERUSALEM — Washington’s special envoy to the Mideast on Wednesday wrapped up his second meeting this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without reaching an agreement on curtailing Israeli settlement construction.

2nd round of US envoy-Israeli PM talks over with no progress reported, 3rd meeting on Friday

JERUSALEM — Washington’s special envoy to the Mideast and Israel’s prime minister ended a second round of talks without reaching a compromise on their showdown over Israeli settlements.

US envoy to meet with Netanyahu after failing to wrest hoped-for concessions on settlements

JERUSALEM — Washington’s special envoy to the Mideast will press Israel on Wednesday for further concessions on settlement construction, having failed a day earlier to reach an accommodation palatable to the U.S. and the Palestinians.

UN probe finds evidence Israel, Palestinians committed ‘war crimes’ during Gaza conflict

UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. investigation concluded Tuesday that both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, raising the prospect that officials may seek prosecution in the International Criminal Court.

US envoy on mission to wring Israeli concessions on settlements, revive Mideast peacemaking

JERUSALEM — Washington’s special Mideast envoy pressed Israel to curtail West Bank settlement construction but announced no breakthroughs after talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday.

Israeli, Palestinian experts present detailed manual for Mideast peace, say deal is possible

TEL AVIV, Israel — Jerusalem divided by a series of fences, trenches and walls. The West Bank and Gaza linked by a sunken highway. Palestinians and Israelis trading land that would require 100,000 Jewish settlers to move.

Mitchell on mission to wring Israeli concessions on settlements, revive peacemaking

JERUSALEM — Washington’s special Mideast envoy launched a last-ditch push Tuesday to wring an Israeli promise to curtail settlement construction and persuade the Palestinians to attend a high-profile U.S. meeting meant as a prelude to peacemaking.

Netanyahu tells lawmakers: West Bank settlement construction will not be completely frozen

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected U.S. calls to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, angering Palestinians and putting a New York summit in question.

Netanyahu tells lawmakers: Settlement construction will not be frozen

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed U.S. demands for a total West Bank settlement freeze on Monday, digging in his heels before a crucial meeting with Washington’s special Mideast envoy.

Israeli PM Netanyahu: Differences remain with US over restarting peace talks with Palestinians

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking before a key meeting with the White House Mideast envoy, said Sunday that differences remain with the U.S. over resuming peacemaking with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu says he hopes to bridge remaining gaps with US on peacemaking

JERUSALEM — An ongoing disagreement between Israel and the U.S. over how to resume Mideast peace talks remains unresolved, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

Rockets from Lebanon draw Israeli artillery response, hiking border tensions

BEIRUT — Two rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into Israel on Friday, prompting Israel to respond with artillery fire, Lebanese security and military officials said.

Taiwan court convicts former President Chen Shui-bian of graft, imposes life sentence

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwan court sentenced former President Chen Shui-bian to life in prison after convicting him on graft charges Friday, a spectacular fall from grace for a man who rode to power on promises to end decades of corruption and deepen the island’s de facto independence.

Gaza’s Coke smugglers: Residents find creative solutions to mark Ramadan

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gazans have been learning to adapt to Hamas rule and a stifling border blockade, both now in their third year. But their skills of improvisation are particularly challenged during the holy month of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

Political satire, rare in Arab world, mocks Palestinian politicians, extremists

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestine TV was once the boring channel that viewers skipped over while searching for entertainment. But this time, the state-run station has picked a winner — an irreverent comedy show that mocks and often bites the hand that feeds it: the government.

Netanyahu’s dilemma: Keep coalition intact without angering the White House over settlements

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the green light for hundreds of new homes in a Palestinian-claimed area of Jerusalem, officials confirmed Wednesday, part of a gamble to mollify his restive coalition without sparking a major confrontation with the U.S.

Months after capture, Israeli soldier wrote of ‘nightmare’ in Hamas captivity in Gaza

JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants more than three years ago described his captivity as an “intolerable and inhumane nightmare” in a handwritten 2006 letter to his parents made public on Wednesday.

Israel seeks bids to build hundreds of apartments in east Jerusalem, over US objections

JERUSALEM — Israel is pushing ahead with a long-delayed plan to build hundreds of apartments in east Jerusalem, staking claims to land the Palestinians want for a future state and complicating already tense relations with the U.S. over its demand for a construction moratorium.

Israel seeks bids to build 486 apartments in east Jerusalem over US objections

JERUSALEM — Israel is pushing ahead a long-delayed plan to build hundreds of apartments in disputed east Jerusalem, staking claims to land the Palestinians claim for a future state and complicating already tense relations with the U.S., which has demanded a construction freeze.

Israeli rights group’s tally of Gaza war: 1,387 Palestinians killed, 773 of them noncombatants

JERUSALEM — Well over half of nearly 1,400 Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza war were civilians, including 252 children younger than 16, a leading Israeli human rights groups said Wednesday, challenging Israel’s claim that most of the dead were militants.

In Gaza, where Holocaust denial runs strong, UN caught in dispute over study of genocide

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza students won’t learn about the Holocaust this year.

Israel approves 366 new West Bank apartments, plans 84 more

JERUSALEM — Israel officially approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in the West Bank, the Defense Ministry said Monday, deepening an already unprecedented rift with the U.S. over Israeli settlement expansion.