Middle East News

Industry, Labor and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on Monday urged Turkey to resume its role as mediator in peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, a day after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Ankara's impartiality had been canceled out by its "insults and tongue-lashing against Israel."

The world must engage, not isolate Iran in the push for Middle East peace and Iranian leaders should negotiate with Western nations for a "just and balanced" solution to concerns over its nuclear program, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday.

Tests confirm remains are those of Alec Collett, who was kidnapped in 1985 while working on an article for the UN An undated picture of British journalist Alec Collett, who was abducted in Lebanon in 1985.

A Palestinian nun who co-founded a charity dedicated to educating Arab girls on Sunday took an important step toward sainthood.

A stepped-up campaign by Iraq's prime minister against Saddam Hussein loyalists is alienating Sunni Muslims and stoking tensions between them and the majority Shiites ahead of key national elections.

The Turkish army is the only army that protects democracy, Israeli President Shimon Peres was quoted as saying by the Turkish CNN Turk television channel. The president was commenting on the Turkish-Israeli relations.

Rejecting a news report suggesting that Turkey has cancelled a deal with Israel for purchasing unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, has announced that Turkey has given Israeli contractors 50 days to fulfill the long-delayed deal for the delivery of the Israeli-made surveillance drones, known as Herons, Today's Zaman reported.

Turkey condemned the killing of a senior Turkmen politician by gunmen in northern Iraq on Sunday, Turkish media reported on Monday.

An American soldier was killed in action south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday, Xinhua reported.

Senior cabinet ministers, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, decided on Sunday to work toward a withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the northern portion of the village of Ghajar on Israel's border with Lebanon, Haaretz reported.

Amid a flurry of media reports that after more than three years of deadlock, Hamas may agree this week to release St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit, President Shimon Peres told reporters in Cairo on Sunday that progress had been made toward a prisoner swap, Jpost reported.

The man in charge of the inquiry examining events surrounding the Iraq war has said his committee will not produce a report that is a "whitewash", BBC reported.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said Sunday negotiations for the release of an abducted Israeli soldier from Hamas have seen "real progress," Xinhua reported.

Israel's president said Sunday expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank was a "marginal" issue blocking resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, Reuters reported.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Sunday called on Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied lands, including East Jerusalem, Xinhua reported.

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 21 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

The Palestinian Authority's intention to present the issue of declaration of an independent state unilaterally to voting at the UN Security Council is highly symbolic and revealing of a deep frustration with regard to the stalled peace process, said Chiara Sulmona (Chiara Sulmoni), European analyst for Middle East Policy.

Egypt reported Sunday the 10th A/ H1N1 flu death case, a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Health said, Xinhua reported.

A senior Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) official warns that Iranian missiles will be on their marks to target the very heart of Tel Aviv in the event of a military attack on the Islamic Republic, Press TV reported.

Israeli planes carried out air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, injuring seven Palestinians, Palestinian medical workers said, Reuters reported.

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated on Saturday at Intel Corp.'s new electronic chip plant in Israel, in protest against work taking place at the site on the Jewish Sabbath, Reuters reported.