Damascus attack sparks fear of escalation

Ruth Pollard Israeli jets appear to have attacked a military centre on the outskirts of Damascus. If confirmed, it would be its second strike inside Syria in the past three days.

Israel attacks military sites in Syria

Ruth Pollard Israeli jets have attacked a military centre on the outskirts of Damascus, the second strike inside Syria in the past three days.

Obama arrives in Israel, this time as president

Ruth Pollard Barack Obama landed in Israel on Wednesday for the first time as US President, on a mission to ease past tensions with his hosts but facing scepticism about his plans to thwart Iran's nuclear threat.

Israel dresses up for Obama's visit but expectations are rock-bottom

Ruth Pollard The flowerbeds along King David Street in downtown Jerusalem are blooming and the road markings have been freshly painted as the city continues its meticulous sprucing in preparation for the visit of...

Obama and Netanyahu smooth over tensions

Ruth Pollard Putting aside their much-analysed frosty relationship, US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united, even jovial front at the conclusion of Mr Obama's...

Anti-settlement protesters struggle to make Obama hear

Ruth Pollard On a rocky hill overlooking the large Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, as sheep grazed along the grassy shoulders of the highway that leads into Jerusalem, a large Palestinian flag unfurled in...

Obama urges Israel to make peace with Palestine

Ruth Pollard Appealing to Israel's younger generation, US President Barack Obama urged them to look at the world through Palestinian eyes and push their political leaders to take a risk and make peace with their...

Israel apologises to Turkey

Ruth Pollard Israel has apologised to Turkey for the deaths of nine of its citizens during a 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid flotilla that was headed for Gaza.

Obama visits the Church of the Nativity

Ruth Pollard As a fierce sandstorm blew into Bethlehem from the Negev Desert in the south, President Barack Obama made his final stop on his three-day visit to Israel and Palestine before he flies to neighbouring...

Israeli PM's call soothes relationship with Turkey

Ruth Pollard Israel has apologised to Turkey for the deaths of nine of its citizens during a 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid flotilla that was headed for Gaza.

Obama came, saw and united, which is bad news for Assad

Ruth Pollard He came to woo the Israeli public and woo them he did, with endless symbolic gestures and a speech that won over many on both the right and left of the political spectrum.

Israeli PM thwarted by anti-Orthodox newcomers

Ruth Pollard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, frustrated by an unexpectedly strong alliance between Israel's two political newcomers, has been forced to seek an extension of time to build a coalition with which...

Rivals and foes give Hamas the cold shoulder

Ruth Pollard Any push by Hamas to install its leader Khalid Mishal as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation will meet fierce resistance from Israel and will fail if on-again, off-again reconciliation...

Aleppo massacre: 68 bodies found near river

Ruth Pollard The bodies lie on the muddy concrete bordering a small canal in Aleppo, many with their hands tied behind their back, each with a bullet to the head, their blood spilling into the stagnant water...

Defiant Abbas expected to win UN vote

Ruth Pollard RAMALLAH: Openly defying the US President, Barack Obama, and facing down Israeli threats to abandon the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, will submit a bid to the United Nations...

Netanyahu calls early poll to halt 'turmoil'

Ruth Pollard ISRAELIS are facing the prospect of early elections again following Benjamin Netanyahu's widely anticipated announcement that his government would go to the polls as early as January.

Ruth Pollard

Netanyahu calls early elections 'for the benefit of Israel'

Ruth Pollard Israelis are again facing the prospect of early elections following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's widely anticipated announcement overnight that his government would go to the polls as early as...

Austerity budget forces early Israel election

Ruth Pollard Israelis are again facing the prospect of early elections after Benjamin Netanyahu's widely expected announcement that his government would go to the polls as early as January.

Crisis deepens as mass protests hit West Bank

Ruth Pollard BETHLEHEM: Cities across the West Bank are in the grip of mass protests as taxi drivers, teachers, shopkeepers and other Palestinian workers joined a strike to protest against fuel price rises and...