Yahoo - Middle East

AFP - Israel's attorney general has criticised Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, saying he stonewalled police efforts to question him over corruption allegations, the press reported on Friday.

AP - Both Israelis and Palestinians came away from Barack Obama's visit to the Holy Land with the feeling he would do more for Mideast peace than President Bush has. But neither side seemed fully convinced that Obama would have their interests at heart.

AFP - The White House on Thursday declined to comment specifically on Israeli plans to expand a settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley but said in general such talk was "not helpful."

AP - Both Israelis and Palestinians came away from Barack Obama's visit to the Holy Land with the feeling he would do more for Mideast peace than President Bush has. But neither side seemed fully convinced that Obama would have their interests at heart.

AFP - Israeli troops arrested five Palestinians and wounded three others in an operation in the southern West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian police and medics said.

AFP - The Israeli army will reduce its operations in the West Bank city of Nablus, an official said Thursday after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas threatened to pull forces out of the flashpoint city.

AFP - Israel was set to expand a settlement in the occupied Jordan Valley, a senior official said on Thursday, in defiance of Palestinian and international calls to freeze such activity.

AP - A key committee has approved construction of the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in a decade, an Israeli official said Thursday. The news infuriated Palestinians, who said the decision could cripple peace efforts.

AP - Obama tells Israelis he's committed to their security, speaking with Hamas rockets as backdrop ... McCain denies he misstated timing of Iraq surge; says some elements began before Bush's order ... McCain credits Bush for drop in oil and gas prices ... Economy top issue, but energy concerns grow in AP-Ipsos poll ... McCain airs radio ads in U.S. Berlins

AP - From the solemnity of a Holocaust museum to a dusty village battered by Hamas rockets, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Wednesday professed "an unshakable commitment to the security" of Israel, whether the threat comes from terrorists, Iran or elsewhere.

AFP - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has spelled out his terms for further prisoner swaps with Israel, according to a letter from UN chief Ban Ki-moon to the president of the Security Council seen here Wednesday.

AP - Obama praises US ties with Israel, promises to push for Palestinian state if president ... People Magazine: Real Obama girls offer irreverence, boundless energy, good manners

AFP - Hezbollah turned over the remains of 114 Syrian and Arab fighters to Syria on Wednesday after receiving them as part of a prisoner swap with Israel last week.