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Fierce battles still ongoing between military and terrorists; unusually, Hamas claims responsibility to 'ambush' of IDF troops. At least two Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in a fire exchange with IDF troops on Friday evening near the Gaza Strip border fence. According to the IDF, the incident happened near Khan Yunus in the southern Gaza Strip. And IDF team patrolling the southern border identified suspicious people approaching the border fence from the Palestinian side and apparently laying explosives near the fence. There troops opened fire and killed at least two Palestinians, but fire exchanges were still ongoing. The...

Iran attacked Israel's construction plans in east Jerusalem on Friday, saying Muslims around the world needed to take action. Announcements by Israel's right-wing government of new building projects in east Jerusalem – which the Jewish state seized in a 1967 war – have spoiled US plans to get Palestinians and Israelis back into peace negotiations. "Expansion of Israeli settlements, destruction of Islamic and Christian sites and wide-scale construction of new synagogues ... show the Zionist plans to accelerate Judaization of east Jerusalem and unfortunately it is approved by American officials," Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in comments reported on...

Senior ministers on Thursday vowed that Israel would issue a "strong" response after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip killed a migrant worker in the south earlier in the day. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai declared Hamas responsible for the rocket that hit Moshav Nativ Ha'asara, even though it was not launched by militants from the ruling movement. Deputy Premier Silvan Shalon vowed that "the the Israeli response will be appropriate. It will be strong," adding: "This is a crossing of the red line, which Israel cannot accept. It was the first deadly rocket attack since...

Warnings of widespread violence in Jerusalem on Monday proved to be unneeded, but police say the real test will be Tuesday. Hamas announced a "day of rage" in response to the dedication of the restored Hurva synagogue in the Old City's Jewish Quarter, police said. Large forces will continue to be deployed throughout the city, with 3,000 police and border police officers stationed in East Jerusalem and neighboring villages. Limitations on access to Muslim prayers on Temple Mount will continue for the fifth day. Members of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee are set to hold a procession in the east...

The Republican upset in the race for the U.S. Senate seat held for nearly half a century by liberal Edward M. Kennedy reflects a huge victory for opponents of U.S. President Barack Obama - and also for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Scott Brown defeated once-favored Martha Coakley for the Massachusetts seat even after U.S. President Barack Obama rushed to Boston on Sunday to try to save her candidacy. Over the past nine months, Netanyahu has managed to curb pressure from Obama, who enjoys a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. Now, however, Obama will be more dependent on the...

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left the White House after a one-hour and 40-minute meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama Monday night without speaking to reporters -- a rare occurrence. The meeting had been grudgingly scheduled early Sunday morning by the White House just a few hours before Netanyahu was to leave for the U.S. to speak at the 2009 General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The ninth-hour appointment was a clear sign that relations between Washington and Jerusalem remain strained; Netanyahu had requested the meeting weeks ago. Also in attendance for part of the meeting was...

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people. The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on...

<p>Iran could complete the manufacture of an atomic bomb within a year, and is just waiting for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to give the go-ahead, according to intelligence sources quoted in a report by The Times on Monday.</p> <p>The sources were further quoted by the British newspaper as saying that the Islamic republic had put a stop to its nuclear arms research program back in 2003 as it had already developed the means to detonate a nuclear warhead which could be launched on the Shahab-3 long-range missile.</p>

Obama was supposed to appear 22 minutes ago for a statement on Health Care. A comparison was given to George W. who was always prompt. Looks like the CBO report has stymied Obowma and he's now scrambling to come up with something to say.