Financial Times FT.com

Resources

Principal content

US does not support Israeli strike on Iran

Barack Obama insisted the US did not support an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear programme, in comments that appeared to slap down his own vice-president

Egypt says captured Israeli soldier well

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he believes an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants three years ago is well and that he hopes the issue will not take a long time to resolve

Philip Stephens: Israel struggles to adapt to a changing picture of Iran

Iran is no longer the country the west had thought, or wanted to think, it was. The post-election scenes on the streets of Iranian cities surely strengthen those who argue that the way to encourage Tehran’s return to the international community is through engagement, writes Philip Stephens

Amnesty details violations in Gaza assault

The human rights group says Israeli forces had shot, at close range, civilians who were fleeing their homes in search of shelter and had fired tank shells into civilian homes

1.5m Gazans ‘trapped in despair’

A report by the Red Cross says Israel’s restrictions on the Gaza Strip’s crossing points and its stringent limitations on imports are making it impossible for residents to rebuild their lives

Israel defies US on West Bank homes

The country’s defence ministry said it had approved the construction of 50 new dwellings in the occupied Palestinian territory – 24 hours before Ehud Barak was due to meet the US Middle East envoy

Quartet urges Israeli move

The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators urged Israel to make a positive move on settlements that diplomats said could pave the way for the resumption of direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and possible concessions by Arab states

Israel in plan to expand West Bank settlement

A rights group says Israel’s defence minister has approved construction of 240 new homes in an unauthorised outpost in a report that appears to defy US calls to halt settlement growth

Palestinian leader urges state-building

Salam Fayyad, the western-backed Palestinian prime minister, urged all Palestinians to build up the necessary institutions to establish an independent state within two years

Clinton clashes with Israelis over settlers

The US secretary of state and Israel’s foreign minister disagreed on the US call for a freeze on settlement growth and Israel’s contention that the Bush administration had signalled that some expansion was permissible

Related content and features

Comment

Obama must build on Arab peace initiative

Israel’s behaviour – specifically its expansion of settlements – alongside its new policy of rejecting the two-state solution, will only give Iran and allies such as Hamas a groundswell of support, writes Ghassan Khatib

A Middle East peace plan puts Netanyahu on the spot

Philip Stephens

Biden’s speech on the conflict laid out in plain terms that Israel’s security depends on peaceful co-existence with a viable Palestinian state, writes Philip Stephens

EDITORIAL

Middle East test of Obama’s resolve

Every serious peace plan is premised on Israel returning to its pre-1967 frontiers and a Palestinian state on the remaining 22% of colonial Palestine. Now is the time to get the deal done