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Editorial: A man humiliated
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is the principal Palestinian advocate of a negotiated two-state peace agreement with Israel. If he stands by his threat to quit it could deal a devastating blow to that process, if not destroy it
Pressure grows on Abbas to stay on
Mahmoud Abbas has been urged to revoke his decision not to run in the upcoming Palestinian presidential election, amid concern that his withdrawal could deal a fatal blow to diminishing prospects for peace
Abbas will not seek re-election
Palestinian Authority president tells senior Palestinian officials he will not seek re-election in January, in a sign of the mounting frustration felt by the veteran leader over the lack of progress in the peace process
Israel seizes arms ‘bound for Hizbollah’
The Jewish state said a captured container ship originating in Iran and loaded with weapons, including rockets, was destined for Syria and Lebanon’s Shia group
Israel says Hamas rockets can reach Tel Aviv
Senior officials say Palestinian militants based in Gaza have recently test-fired a rocket with a 60-km range, putting Israeli population centres at risk
US shift increases Abbas isolation
The latest shift in US policy towards the Middle East peace process has delivered a fresh blow to the standing of the Palestinian leader, leaving him increasingly isolated as he battles conflicting political pressures at home and abroad.
Palestinian ire as Clinton backs Israel
Palestinian officials accused Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, of backtracking on pledges by the Obama administration after she endorsed the Israeli prime minister’s stance that a renewal of talks should not hinge on a settlement freeze
Abbas rebuff to Clinton’s peace push
The US secretary of state failed to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume talks with Israel, a spokesman for Mr Abbas said, citing Jewish settlements as a stumbling block
Gaza water supply at ‘crisis point’
Amnesty International says Israeli policies and practices are denying Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip their fair share of the region’s scarce water supplies
Israel considers inquiry into Gaza war
Israel is moving closer to setting up its own inquiry into the recent Gaza war, in a move designed to ease international pressure without acceding to demands for a full-blown independent committee of investigation
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Comment
The peace test for Netanyahu
With Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu still far apart on the issue of Israeli settlements, someone is going to have to lose face soon, writes Philip Stephens
The grand bargain that is the Mideast’s best hope
The promise of peace embodied in a revived Arab Peace Initiative would justify Israeli concessions such as in settlement construction, write Shai Feldman and Gilead Sher
