Take a soccer-crazy crowd and a traditional Palestinian opening ceremony. Add a splash of corporate sponsorship, and sprinkle in some black-clad, gun-toting security.
Terrace crowds are controlled by men wearing army fatigues and holding Kalashnikov rifles, players and press pray on the pitch at half-time and when the final whistle is blown, the trophy is handed to the winning captain by one of Israel's most wanted men.
Terrace crowds are controlled by men wearing army fatigues and holding Kalashnikov rifles, players and press pray on the pitch at half-time and when the final whistle is blown, the trophy is handed to the winning captain by one of Israel's most wanted men.
A radical Muslim sheikh's call for the creation of an Islamic emirate in Gaza sparked clashes with Hamas forces that left 21 people dead and injured at least 121 others.
A radical Muslim cleric is among those killed after Hamas police storm a Gaza mosque. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
Most people across Muslim and Arab lands viewed President Obama's speech in Cairo, Egypt, as "excellent," a spokesman for the hard-line Palestinian movement Hamas said.
Former Hamas senior adviser talks to CNN's John Roberts about Obama's Middle East speech.
The death toll from a weekend of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has topped 300, Palestinian medical sources said Monday as a third day of air raids hit the Hamas-ruled territory.
Israeli security forces shot and killed a Palestinian militant near the West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian and Israeli authorities said.
Israel said Wednesday it would impose sanctions on the influential Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera, accusing it of slanted coverage favoring the violent Hamas movement
Israeli aircraft hit the Gaza City building housing the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh early Sunday, heavily damaging it.
After an 8-year-old boy lost his leg in a rocket attack over the weekend, angry residents of Sderot in southern Israel protested in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Monday, demanding the government do more to prevent such attacks on their town.
Residents of Sderot, Israel journey to Jerusalem to protest ongoing rocket attacks.
Four Palestinian fighters were killed Thursday in clashes with Israeli soldiers, Palestinian medical sources said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has said he would be willing to negotiate a cease-fire with Israel -- but Israel is reacting coolly.
Friends and relatives welcome home Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.
Israel early Monday began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who are aligned with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a goodwill gesture.
The Israeli security Cabinet declared Hamas-controlled Gaza a "hostile entity" Wednesday in response to continued Palestinian rocket attacks.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev tells why Gaza is now a ''hostile entity'' and what the designation means.
The declaration by Hamas that it is in control of Gaza left many nations in the Middle East and beyond scrambling to determine what to do next -- and wondering how the recent crisis will affect plans for a permanent peace in the region.
Israeli airstrikes hit five targets in and around Gaza City early Saturday, wounding four people, Palestinian security sources said.
Six people were wounded Wednesday night in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, the Palestinian Ramattan news agency 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.
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.
Israel rejected the newly anointed Palestinian unity government Sunday after the Palestinian prime minister said the deal didn't rule out "popular resistance against occupation."
Palestinian parliament members voted overwhelmingly to form a coalition government Saturday, the first forged between the rival Islamic Hamas and secular Fatah factions.
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 and President Mahmoud Abbas met early Friday and agreed to withdraw armed militants from the streets, Haniya said.
CHICAGO (CNN) -- A federal grand jury Thursday indicted a man who allegedly planned to set off several grenades in garbage cans at a Rockford, Ill., shopping mall during the busy holiday shopping rush, authorities said.
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 and Fatah agreed Tuesday to a new cease-fire in Gaza after an earlier truce failed to stop street battles that have killed 14 people and wounded dozens more.
A fragile cease-fire between Palestinian factions in Gaza teetered on the edge of collapse Monday after a gun battle at the Jabalya refugee camp and the kidnapping of a senior Fatah official.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and British Prime Minister Tony Blair met for talks Monday, with both leaders urging new efforts to resume the Mideast peace process.
The leading Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah agreed to a cease-fire after street battles left at least two people dead, leaders of other parties involved in the talks announced early Monday.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday called for early elections, amid increased violence between political factions and the collapse of talks on forming a unity government.
On Monday morning, Baha Balousheh kissed his three sons goodbye and sent them off to school. From his children's bedroom window, he watched them drive away in their chauffeured car.
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters took to the streets Friday, the day after their leader -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya -- survived an alleged assassination attempt.
Gunfire broke out and a border crossing was closed after Israel blocked Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya from crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Thursday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is indicating he may call for early elections in the Palestinian territories, Palestinian official Saeb Erakat told CNN.
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.
Hamas' exiled political leader has vowed to retaliate after Israeli troops killed 19 Palestinian civilians, many of them women and children, during a military operation in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian medical sources.
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.
Five members of the Palestinian Intelligence Service were killed Friday as they left a mosque in a Gaza refugee camp, according to Palestinian security sources.
The Palestinian prime minister said late Saturday that he hopes two Fox journalists kidnapped earlier this month will be released "in the coming hours," his office said.
Israel launched more attacks against targets in Gaza early Sunday, continuing its bid to retrieve a soldier who was kidnapped two weeks ago.
An Israeli airstrike hit the building housing the Palestinian government's Interior Ministry early Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian sources told CNN.
Israeli missiles targeted two buildings in Gaza early Monday, hours after Israel said it would step up its military operations until a young captured soldier is released.
An Israeli helicopter-fired missile hit the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya early Sunday, Palestinian sources said.
Three Palestinian militant groups reportedly holding an Israeli soldier hostage issued demands Saturday shortly after an Israeli state-run television station reported that Cpl. Gilad Shalit had been treated by a doctor.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas on Saturday to renew its cease-fire with Israel, saying it would remove any "pretext" for the Israeli military to continue bombing Palestinian targets, a spokesman for Abbas said.
Palestinian security forces were on high alert Monday after Palestinian Authority and Hamas security forces clashed in Rafah, resulting in two deaths.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday scheduled a July referendum on a proposal to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel -- even though ruling party Hamas has rejected the plan.
The United States is leading an "unholy alliance" to undermine democratic elections that put Hamas at the helm of the Palestinian Authority, partly by denying millions of dollars in aid to the new government, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Friday.
Israeli soldiers shelled a Palestinian security position in northern Gaza Sunday morning, killing a police officer and wounding seven people, Palestinian security forces said.
In a second day of attacks in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike Saturday targeted a training camp, killing at least six militants, Palestinian security and medical sources said.
A gunbattle on Friday that erupted between Palestinian security forces and the militant Palestinian Resistance Committees killed three people -- a security force member, a Popular Resistance member and a civilian, medical sources said.
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.
The Hamas leader set to become the next Palestinian prime minister showed his list of Cabinet picks Sunday to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a key step toward the militant group's assumption of political power.
Hamas leaders plan to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza on Sunday night to discuss the lineup of their proposed Palestinian Cabinet.
Hamas told its followers to take to the streets of Gaza City on Thursday after the Israeli military reportedly killed six people during military strikes in the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinians peacefully heeded the call.
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.
Palestinian security patrols began Sunday in Gaza after a meeting between officials aiming to keep peace and national unity while Yasser Arafat is in a hospital.
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