A rocket hit a shopping mall center on Wednesday in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, wounding at least 14 people -- including a mother and an infant -- the Israeli military and emergency officials said.
Smeared by McCain, Obama says he won't talk to the bad guys. They're both failing the leadership test
An Israeli tank shell hit a Gaza home Monday, killing a Palestinian woman and four of her children as they prepared to sit down for breakfast, officials and relatives said.
The daughter of a senior member of Hamas was killed and her two siblings and mother were wounded in an exchange of fire with Israel Defense Forces, who surrounded the house Saturday morning, Palestinian security forces said.
An Israeli official says a Hamas proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip is "not serious" and would only allow the hardline Islamic group to prepare for a new round of fighting.
The Palestinian group Hamas is proposing a six-month cease-fire with Israel, saying it will stop firing rockets out of Gaza if the Jewish state simultaneously lifts its blockade of the coastal strip
Former President Carter very politely denied Wednesday that the secretary of state or anyone else in her department had warned him against meeting with Hamas leaders during his recent trip to the Middle East.
Hamas is prepared to agree to a cease-fire with Israel that would begin only in the Gaza Strip, a senior representative of the militant group said, dropping a demand that any agreement also immediately include the West Bank
Defying U.S. and Israeli warnings, former President Carter met again Saturday with the exiled leader of the militant Hamas group, the leader's deputy said.
Two senior Hamas leaders based in Gaza arrived in the Egyptian capital on Wednesday in hopes of meeting with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Hamas political sources told CNN.
A rocket hit a shopping mall center on Wednesday in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, wounding at least 14 people -- including a mother and an infant -- the Israeli military and emergency officials said.
Smeared by McCain, Obama says he won't talk to the bad guys. They're both failing the leadership test
An Israeli tank shell hit a Gaza home Monday, killing a Palestinian woman and four of her children as they prepared to sit down for breakfast, officials and relatives said.
The daughter of a senior member of Hamas was killed and her two siblings and mother were wounded in an exchange of fire with Israel Defense Forces, who surrounded the house Saturday morning, Palestinian security forces said.
An Israeli official says a Hamas proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip is "not serious" and would only allow the hardline Islamic group to prepare for a new round of fighting.
The Palestinian group Hamas is proposing a six-month cease-fire with Israel, saying it will stop firing rockets out of Gaza if the Jewish state simultaneously lifts its blockade of the coastal strip
Former President Carter very politely denied Wednesday that the secretary of state or anyone else in her department had warned him against meeting with Hamas leaders during his recent trip to the Middle East.
Hamas is prepared to agree to a cease-fire with Israel that would begin only in the Gaza Strip, a senior representative of the militant group said, dropping a demand that any agreement also immediately include the West Bank
Defying U.S. and Israeli warnings, former President Carter met again Saturday with the exiled leader of the militant Hamas group, the leader's deputy said.
Two senior Hamas leaders based in Gaza arrived in the Egyptian capital on Wednesday in hopes of meeting with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Hamas political sources told CNN.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Sunday in Jerusalem to discuss the situation in Gaza, the chief Palestinian negotiator told CNN.
The Bush administration has urged former President Jimmy Carter not to go forward with plans to meet with the leader of Hamas, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.
Israeli forces have arrested a wanted Hamas leader accused of planning one of the worst suicide attacks on Israel, the Israeli military announced Wednesday.
Israeli aircraft hit the Gaza City building housing the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh early Sunday, heavily damaging it.
An Israeli airstrike pounded a Hamas base in southern Gaza on Tuesday, killing at least six Hamas militants and injuring 10 -- three critically, Hamas security sources said.
At least 38 Egyptian security force members have been hurt in clashes as riot police and armored vehicles sought to restore control over crowds continuing to move through a breached border wall between Egypt and Gaza, Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Saturday.
Hamas leaders in Gaza have declared a three-day mourning period after an Israeli raid on eastern Gaza City left at least 17 dead and more than 20 wounded.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has said he would be willing to negotiate a cease-fire with Israel -- but Israel is reacting coolly.
As the peace summit comes to a close, two players may try to play the spoiler. But there are ways to thwart their efforts
At least seven Palestinians were killed and 55 wounded Monday when Hamas security forces and Fatah gunmen traded fire at a Gaza City rally, according to Palestinian medical sources.
Hamas security forces opened fire Monday at a rally commemorating Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, killing five
The father of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit said he has not been contacted by any of his son's kidnappers or their direct representatives, despite a recent statement from exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.
Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit -- captured by Hamas more than a year ago -- is alive and well, the exiled leader of Hamas told CNN Friday.
Hamas security sources said two simultaneous Israeli airstrikes on Saturday killed at least one person and wounded nine others near the Rafah Crossing in southern Gaza.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair makes his debut as special Middle East envoy Thursday amid hopes he can re-energize the peace process.
Israel and the Islamist militants are quietly negotiating the release of anIsraeli soldier held in Gaza
Cpl. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinian political movement Hamas a year ago, said in an audiotape released Monday that his health is deteriorating and that he needs to go the hospital.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in new cabinet members for his emergency government at his headquarters in Ramallah.
Rival factions killed more than two dozen people Tuesday in bitter fighting that has left Gaza sliding into chaos, Palestinian officials said.
As it ponders how to stop Hamas militants from launching rockets into Israel, the Jewish state is keeping all of its options open -- including assassination attempts on Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, a top Israeli defense official said Tuesday.
A cease-fire was brokered Saturday between the rival Palestinian Hamas and Fatah parties -- the fifth such attempt at peace this week -- as rockets were fired into Israel following Israeli airstrikes overnight.
Battles between Palestinian factions in Gaza claimed more than a dozen lives Wednesday, while Hamas militants launched rockets into Israel, provoking Israeli military airstrikes on Hamas.
For the second consecutive day, a cease-fire between rival Palestinian militias was shattered as the factions clashed in Gaza on Tuesday, with at least 12 dead in related violence.
A cease-fire between Hamas and Fatah has been restored, a Palestinian government spokesman said Monday.
Hamas and Fatah began observing a cease-fire early Monday, officials from both sides said.
Hundreds of Palestinian police patrolled on foot Wednesday to launch what the Palestinian Authority says is the first phase of its 100-day security plan for Gaza.
A Hamas leader on Friday offered a message to the father of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in June: If you want your son to be released, get your country to follow our demands.
The kidney dialysis unit of the public hospital in Nablus is running at capacity: four shifts a day serving nearly 100 patients. It would be a difficult task for any hospital. More so for one that has little money to pay its staff or buy fresh medical supplies.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his political rival, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, will negotiate details on forming a national unity Palestinian government during Wednesday's meetings in Saudi Arabia's holy city Mecca, Saudi officials said.
Factional fighting echoed through the streets of Gaza City Friday as militia members of the ruling Palestinian Hamas party battled rivals from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.
In the third consecutive day of violence between Hamas and Fatah, security sources said gunmen tried to kill the bodyguard of a top aide to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and a top Hamas figure was kidnapped in front of a video news crew.
Three Palestinians were killed Saturday during a clash outside the Islamic University of Gaza, bringing the death toll to 18 in three days of fighting between rival Palestinian factions.
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have suspended talks because of a groundswell of violence between them, spokesmen for the two groups said Friday.
An Interior Ministry official and the deputy mayor of Nablus, both members of Hamas, were kidnapped on Saturday, according to Palestinian security sources.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on Tuesday blamed the United States for backing "an undeclared decision" to topple the Hamas-led Palestinian government through early elections.
Hamas leader and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya suggested Friday that he would not head a proposed unity government if stepping aside would help to bring back Western aid.
The Palestinian Authority could announce a national unity government led by "an independent technocrat" as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to a senior Palestinian diplomat.
The ruling Hamas party will not join any Palestinian unity government that recognizes Israel, according to a spokesman for Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended talks on a unity government with Hamas until after he returns from a United Nations meeting in New York, according to Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
(Time.com) Around the world, people could be excused for feeling that they are witnessing something numbingly familiar in the Middle East, like a recurring nightmare that many would rather keep stored in the recesses of memory.
An Israeli airstrike hit the building housing the Palestinian government's Interior Ministry early Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian sources told CNN.
The Hamas-led government offered to renew its cease-fire with Israel on Thursday if the Jewish state halts what it calls "aggression" against Palestinians, a spokesman for the Islamic militant group said.
A Hamas militant died in an explosion at a house in northern Gaza on Monday, Palestinian security sources said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has given his rivals in the Hamas-led government 10 days to accept a plan for a Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel, or else he will call for a national referendum on the question.
Israeli security forces early Tuesday arrested a top Hamas militant in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a statement from the Israel Defense Forces said.
At least one person was killed Monday when a gunbattle erupted between Hamas militiamen and Palestinian police around the parliament building.
European monitors at a crossing between Gaza and Egypt caught a Hamas official Friday carrying about 900,000 euros, Palestinian officials said.
The Palestinian ruling party Hamas put 3,000 armed followers on the streets of Gaza on Wednesday in a show of force aimed at gunmen from rival factions who have clashed with Hamas in recent days.
Jordanian security officials have discovered more Hamas weapons hidden in a village in northern Jordan, a government spokesman said Tuesday.
Israel will revoke Jerusalem residency rights for Hamas lawmakers in response to a Tel Aviv suicide bombing that killed nine people, an Israeli government spokesman said Tuesday.
Iran will give the Palestinian Authority $50 million and urged other Muslim countries to follow suit, Iran's top diplomat said Sunday.
The United States will increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinians but will cut off all assistance for building projects in the Palestinian territories, the State Department said Friday.
The new Hamas-led Palestinian government is prepared to engage in "serious and constructive dialogue" to reach a "just and comprehensive solution" of its differences with Israel, the new Palestinian foreign minister said Tuesday.
On the day Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his 24-member Cabinet were sworn in to take the Palestinian helm, the United States and Canada on Wednesday formally cut ties with the government.
Hamas's political leader has reaffirmed the organization's hard-line stance at the start of a three-day visit to Russia aimed at denting the Palestinian militant group's international isolation, saying that its refusal to recognize Israel was not up for negotiation.
Russia's foreign minister has warned that Hamas faces no future if the militant group fails to change itself into a political party.
Saudi Arabia will continue supporting the Palestinian Authority despite the election of a government led by the Islamic militant group Hamas -- because it does not want to punish ordinary Palestinians, the kingdom's foreign minister said Wednesday.
As Hamas members prepare to be sworn in to the Palestinian Legislative Council on Saturday, it is unclear whom they will select as prime minister for the Palestinian government, the group's leader in Gaza City said.
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to take action to disarm Hamas before it gains control of the Palestinian government.
Israel wants Hamas to recognize its right to exist; Palestinians want an end to "Islamophobia" -- so said representatives of the two governments, sharing a panel at a Washington think tank.
A Hamas-led Palestinian parliament will convene on February 16, according to Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar, who held a news conference Saturday following his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
A week after Hamas wrested control of the Palestinian parliament from the Fatah Party, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not officially called on the Islamic fundamentalist group to form a government.
Hamas' stunning victory in the Palestinian elections left the Bush Administration in a difficult position this morning, forced to reconcile the fruits of its push for democracy in the Middle East with its goal of peace in the region. In response, the White House argued that the vote was a rejection of the ruling guard Fatah's corruption, rather than the peace process itself. Speaking at a press conference this morning, President Bush called the Hamas win a "wake-up" call for the Fatah leadership. "You see, when you give people the vote, give them the chance to express themselves at the polls and they're unhappy with the status quo, they'll let you know," he said. "The people are demanding honest government. The people want services. They want to be able to raise their children in an environment in which they can get a decent education and they can find health care. And so the elections should open the eyes of the old guard there in the Palestinian territories. I like the competition of ideas. I like peopl
The international community is willing to provide crucial aid to Palestinians if the new Hamas-led government commits to non-violence, recognizes Israel's right to exist and accepts current Mideast peace agreements, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has said.
Israeli acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Sunday for a "unified international position" against a Palestinian government that includes an armed group calling for Israel's destruction.
A mob of up to 2,000 furious Fatah supporters took to the streets Friday, burning cars, firing guns and demanding the resignation of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas after the militant group Hamas trounced their party in parliamentary elections.
The Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas, which has said it favors the destruction of Israel, won a landslide victory in Palestinian elections, securing 76 seats in the 132-member legislature, officials said Thursday.
Israeli Avi Zana listened with horror on Thursday to news that the Hamas militant group that killed his son had won Palestinian elections.
The future of the Middle East entered a new era of uncertainty Thursday, as the militant Palestinian opposition group Hamas snatched power from the ruling old guard and made skeptics of many key players in the peace process.
We -- you, me, and the rest of the world -- have been voyeurs to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for a long time.
About 1.3 million Palestinians are heading to the polls Wednesday in the first parliamentary elections in a decade -- a key vote that observers say could be pivotal in the Palestinian push for statehood.
Thirty Palestinians were arrested early Saturday and accused of being terrorists by Israelis.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei has banned the carrying of unlicensed weapons into areas controlled by Palestinian security, Cabinet member Saeb Erakat said Thursday.
An Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander of Hamas who was known as a master bombmaker Thursday night as he rode in a vehicle in Gaza City with his bodyguard, Hamas and the Israeli military said. The bodyguard also died in the attack.
A Hamas leader was killed Sunday when a car exploded in Damascus, Syria, an official of the Palestinian militant group told CNN.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday its air force attacked a car in Gaza City, killing a Hamas field commander.
An Israeli helicopter fired missiles into three buildings Wednesday night in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, including a battery shop belonging to a suicide bomber's family, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.
An explosion rocked a house in Gaza City early Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding 16 others, Palestinian security sources and hospital sources said.
A successor to slain Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi has been appointed, but his name is being kept secret for his protection, sources in the group's military wing said Sunday.
New Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi delivered a fiery speech at a memorial service Sunday for his slain predecessor, blasting Israel for its Palestinian policies and calling U.S. President Bush "an enemy of Muslims."
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was named acting Gaza leader of Hamas until a new leader is chosen, Hamas officials said Tuesday.
Even though United States and Israeli officials insist Washington had no advance notice of plans to assassinate Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed, those assurances faced heavy skepticism in the Arab world.
Geopolitical worries dominated trading Monday, with U.S. stock markets tanking as investors reacted to threats of retribution against the United States and other nations after the killing of the founder of the Palestinian group Hamas.
U.S. stocks tumbled early Monday, as investors reacted to political instability abroad -- the death of the leader of Hamas in an Israeli air strike and a disputed election in Taiwan.
The Israeli military said it launched a helicopter air strike Wednesday on a car in Gaza carrying senior members of the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas.

| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
