Palestinians: Netanyahu must resume talks from point they ended with previous government

ABU DIS, West Bank — The chief Palestinian negotiator said Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must resume peace talks from the point where they ended under Israel’s previous, more moderate government.

Life sentence for female West Bank informer highlights contradictions of Palestinian policy

JENIN, West Bank — A 22-year-old Palestinian woman, who says she became an informer for Israel to earn money that would get her out of prostitution, is going to prison for life. Others convicted of collaboration with Israel by West Bank courts sit on death row.

Israeli envoy to Washington confident about compromise on settlements

JERUSALEM — Israel’s incoming ambassador to the United States said Tuesday he was confident that his government will soon reach an agreement with Washington to allow some construction in West Bank settlements.

Bill Clinton says Netanyahu peace terms are opening moves in drama that has more acts

UNITED NATIONS — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tough terms for a Palestinian peace deal are just the opening moves in a drama that will have a few more acts.

Correction: Carter receives award from Palestinian foundation

RAMALLAH, West Bank — In a June 13 story about Jimmy Carter’s visit to the West Bank, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the former U.S. president was honored by the Palestinian government with an award. The Palestine International Award for Excellence and Creativity was given to Carter by Phalestia, a foundation that belongs to the Paltel Group, a private Palestinian communications company.

Palestinians seek world help against Netanyahu peace terms, but don’t rule out talks

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian officials sought U.S and European help to salvage foundering peacemaking on Monday after tough terms laid out by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but they stopped short of refusing to resume negotiations.

Coalition allies embrace Netanyahu’s endorsement of Palestinian state

JERUSALEM — Top figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hawkish government lined up behind him Monday after he declared conditional support for Palestinian independence, despite the historically hard line they have taken on territorial concessions.

Netanyahu gives in to US pressure, calls for creation of Palestinian state

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed a Palestinian state beside Israel for the first time on Sunday, reversing himself under U.S. pressure but attaching conditions such as having no army that the Palestinians swiftly rejected.

Israeli premier Netanyahu appeals to Arab and Palestinian leaders to meet and make peace

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling on Palestinian leaders to restart peace negotiations without preconditions.

Israel leader to call for demilitarized Palestinian state in policy speech, says Netanyahu aid

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time will endorse the notion of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, top aides said Sunday, giving in to heavy U.S. pressure to drop his long-standing opposition to Palestinian independence.

Carter, a settlement critic, pays visit to Israeli settlement to ‘listen’

NEVE DANIEL, West Bank — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a vocal critic of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, ventured into one such settlement on Sunday and told its hardline residents that their community is among those which should be able to remain in place under a final peace deal with the Palestinians.

Iranian election gives Netanyahu opportunity to put peacemaking on back burner in speech

JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister delivers a highly anticipated policy speech Sunday in which he could use the re-election of Iran’s hard-line president to boost his argument that Tehran poses a bigger threat to Mideast peace than his refusal to endorse Palestinian statehood.

Jimmy Carter honored by Palestinians, says he’ll keep backing their push for independence

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was honored by the Palestinian government Saturday and pledged to support the Palestinians’ campaign for independence to the end of his days.

With nuclear dispute at stake, world reacts cautiously to Iranian hard-liner’s re-election

VIENNA — The U.S. and Canada challenged Iran’s claims that hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, but much of the rest of the world remained silent Saturday despite claims of fraud and scenes of clashes on the streets of Tehran.

Former President Jimmy Carter says Mideast peace not possible without Hamas

DAMASCUS, Syria — Former President Jimmy Carter Thursday reiterated that there can be no peace between Israel and the Palestinians without involving the militant group Hamas.

Analysis: Netanyahu, cornered by own hawks and Obama, may have to pick sides

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to narrow a growing divide with the Obama administration when he delivers a major policy speech in the coming days, his aides say — perhaps even endorsing the concept of a Palestinian state at the risk of alienating his hawkish coalition.

US envoy says Washington seeks prompt resumption and ‘early conclusion’ of Mideast talks

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The United States seeks a “prompt resumption and early conclusion” of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Washington’s special Mideast envoy said after talks Wednesday with Palestinian leaders.

Carter’s Middle East trip to include visit with captive’s father, tour of West Bank settlement

ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter’s latest Mideast peacemaking trip will include a visit with the father of a captive Israeli soldier and a tour of a West Bank settlement.

US envoy tries to ease Israeli concerns, says support for Jewish state remains firm

JERUSALEM — An American envoy sought to assure anxious Israeli leaders on Tuesday that U.S. support for the Jewish state remains firm, despite a growing rift over Israeli construction in West Bank settlements and the Obama administration’s approach to peace efforts.

Text of President Barack Obama’s speech at Cairo University in Egypt

Text of President Barack Obama’s speech at Cairo University, as provided by CQ Transcriptions.

US envoy begins Mideast push amid tensions with Israel over settlement construction

JERUSALEM — U.S. envoy George Mitchell began a new swing through the Mideast on Tuesday with a call for a rapid resumption of peace talks, as the White House tried to push Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank.

Hamas official says Obama should talk to them, says militant group represents the Palestinians

DAMASCUS, Syria — An exiled Hamas leader urged Barack Obama on Monday to talk directly with the militant group, saying it is the representative of the Palestinian people and the American president’s drive for Mideast peace is impossible without them.

Former President Carter plans visit to West Bank and Gaza after monitoring Lebanon elections

ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter will visit Syria, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza this week to promote constructive dialogue on the Israeli-Arab conflict, a spokeswoman for the Carter Center said Sunday.

Former president Carter to visit Syria, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza

ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter will visit Syria, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza this week to promote constructive dialogue on the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Some militants respond positively to Obama outreach to Muslims, others warn he is deceptive

RAMALLAH, West Bank — From Lebanese guerrillas to Saudi preachers, Islamic extremists have warned followers not to be taken in by President Barack Obama’s conciliatory words — a sign that some may be nervous about losing support if animosity toward the U.S. fades.

Israel’s Netanyahu to lay out peace principles next week in response to Obama speech

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will deliver a major policy address next week laying out his proposed road to Mideast peace, after coming under stiff U.S. pressure to freeze West Bank settlement construction and endorse Palestinian statehood.

Obama, Sarkozy stand united on Iran, Mideast peace, set to commemorate D-Day invasion

CAEN, France — President Barack Obama and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, stood united Saturday in efforts to thwart Iran’s disputed nuclear ambitions and bring about a Mideast peace that provides for separate Israeli and Palestinian states.

Obama, Sarkozy, agree on call for Israel to stop building settlements in West Bank

CAEN, France — President Barack Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy are again mutually calling for Iran not to develop a nuclear weapons program.

Analysis: Amid heightened expectations, Obama may seek broader Mideast peace effort

WASHINGTON — If “the moment is now” to push for Mideast peace, as President Barack Obama asserted in Germany, it may unfold with the administration looking to find a peacemaking role for Syria and exploring possibilities for dealing with Israel’s longtime foe, Hamas.

Medics say Israeli troops killed Palestinian in violent West Bank demonstration

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian man Friday during a demonstration against the construction of the West Bank separation barrier, medics and witnesses said.