EU, U.S. criticize Israel on new housing units in East Jerusalem

The European Union and the United States have criticized the approval in Israel of the construction of 1,100 new Jewish housing units in disputed East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, said the move shows that Israel is not interested in renewed peace talks. (more…)

Jerusalem blast leaves dozens injured- update

A loud explosion shook a busy street in Jerusalem on Wednesday, wounding nearly 30 people, authorities said.

There were no immediate reports of deaths ( see update) in the first serious bombing in Jerusalem in four years, but several people were critically injured, authorities said. (more…)

Israel braces for flare-up as Gazan rockets hit

Palestinian rockets struck two cities deep in Israel Wednesday, wounding a resident and prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to threaten lengthy “exchanges of blows” with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. (more…)

Gemayel calls for condemning Israeli plan for Jerusalem

Lebanese former president and Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel called on the Lebanese cabinet to convene quickly and condemn Israel for its intent to announce Jerusalem a capital for the Jewish people, according to a statement issued by Gemayel’s press office on Saturday. (more…)

Jerusalem residents attack Elie Wiesel over appeal to Obama

An extraordinary row has broken out between Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor, author and Nobel peace prize winner, and a group of Jewish residents of Jerusalem over who speaks for the future of the disputed city.

Wiesel prompted the argument with an open letter to Barack Obama appealing for him not to “politicise” differences over Jerusalem by pressing Israel to stop Jewish settlement construction there. In a reflection of the divisions that sometimes exist between Jews who live in the city and those who idealise it from afar, 100 Jewish residents have responded with their own open letter expressing “outrage” at Wiesel’s call, and accusing him of sentimentality and falsely claiming that there is no discrimination against Jerusalem’s Arab population. (more…)

Turkish PM: ‘If Jerusalem burns the ME & the world would burn’

Lebanon Speaker Nabih Berri interrupted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he delivered a speech before the committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul to applaud him.

Berri interrupted Erdogan halfway through his speech and stood among the 28 leaders attending the conference to applaud the Turkish premier when Erdogan said “If Jerusalem burns the Middle East and the world would burn.” (more…)

Netanyahu again rejected US calls to halt construction in occupied East Jerusalem

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has again rejected US calls to halt construction in occupied East Jerusalem.

He was speaking as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived in the region to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

It is his first visit since a row broke out between Israel and the US over home construction plans in East Jerusalem. (more…)

Arab Summit to raise $500 million for Jerusalem

Egypt on Thursday proposed that the Arab League summit in Libya be called “The Jerusalem Summit,” in light of the tensions in the region over continued Israeli construction in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians and other Arab League members hope to make East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the 1967 Middle East war, the capital of a future Palestinian state.

“Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told AIPAC the leading pro- Israel lobby group in the United States. (more…)

Obama tells Netanyahu: US Wants ‘Steps to Build Confidence’

U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take “steps that build confidence” in the Middle East peace process.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday the president and Mr. Netanyahu had “honest and straightforward” talks about regional security, comprehensive peace efforts and the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. (more…)

Lebanon president condemns Israeli escalation of violence

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman condemned on Monday the state of Israel for attacking Palestinians at one of Islam’s holiest sites, the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem and called for international action to stop acts that prevent achievement of peace in the region.

On Sunday several Palestinians were arrested after Israeli security forces entered the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem. The incident followed clashes in the West Bank town of Hebron on Friday over Israel’s decision to list two disputed shrines as heritage sites. (more…)