Abu Marzouk: Hamas won't be bound by PA-Israel treaty Hamas will not be bound by any agreement reached between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, senior party leader Moussa Abu Marzouk says. In an interview in Cairo with US newspaper The Forward, Abu Marzouk pointed out that when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power, he chose not to abide by the Oslo Accords signed by his predecessor Yitzhak Rabin. In the same way, a future Hamas government will not be bound by

Israeli prison authorities prevent family visits Israeli prison authorities on Thursday prevented relatives from visiting detainees in Gilboa prison in northern Israel, the Prisoners Society said. Family members of detainees from Nablus told the Prisoners Society that they were not allowed to see their relatives. Several detainees were also transferred to nearby Shatta jail as a punishment for undertaking hunger strike action. Director of the society in Nablus Raed Omar condemne

Fatah official blames Hamas for reconciliation delay The secretary-general of Fatah's revolutionary council said Thursday that Hamas was to blame for suspending reconciliation talks. Amin Maqboul told solaa that some members of Hamas in Gaza are afraid to lose their privileges if a unity government is formed and presidential and parliamentary elections are held. He added that Fatah is open to all initiatives, whether Arab or Palestinian, to revive reconciliation talks. "There are

Netanyahu defends Iran, Nazi Holocaust comparison Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected criticism of his likening of a nuclear-armed Iran to the Nazi Holocaust as improper, saying in an address to the country on Wednesday that "uncomfortable truths" must be aired. He defended his analogy on the eve of Israel's annual day of Holocaust remembrance against those who say it is not only irreverent to the six million Jews killed by Hitler's Germany but also stokes panic about

Israel cracks down on hunger-striking prisoners The PA Ministry of Detainee Affairs said Wednesday that Israel has tightened procedures against prisoners on a mass hunger-strike launched a day earlier. The ministry said in a statement that Israel's prison administration put detainees in solitary confinement without electricity. Prisoners in Ashkelon jail said detainees were threatened with transfer to a new section, and banned family visits. Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman S

six year-old crushed to death by gate near Jenin A six-year-old boy from the northern West Bank was killed when an iron gate fell on him near his home on Tuesday, police said. Muhammad Barakat Al-Umary was crushed to death, and his brother Omar, 9, was seriously injured in Jenin-district Faqqua village, a police statement said. The boys were playing near their home when the sliding gate fell. Omar was taken to Jenin public hospital with fractured legs and pelvis

Israel mass grave must exclude Palestinians A group of relatives of Palestinians killed by Israel demanded Tuesday that the Israeli government exclude their remains from a state plan to bury unidentified remains. Israel's Haaretz daily reported that 8,000 jars of human remains are to be given a proper burial, under a national program unveiled Sunday by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv. Palestinian relatives insisted that Israel follow through on its a

Israel frees Khader Adnan Israeli authorities released former hunger-striking administrative detainee Khader Adnan late Tuesday Adnan arrived at his home in Araba in the northern West Bank to meet his family before returning to a tent reception where he spoke to well-wishers and officials in the village. Hundreds of Palestinians chanted slogans in solidarity with prisoners as they welcomed the former detainee, whose 66-day hunger strike inspired others to

An occasional Palestinian Christian encounter of Israeli intolerance -- By Baha Hilo --- The Israeli ambassador to the US appears to really believe that Palestinian Christians suffer significantly from Palestinian Muslims, and just occasionally from Israeli intolerance. Palestinian Christians' reality is the complete opposite. The ambassador's latest missives in the American press have provoked Palestinian Christian leaders to remind him and his readers that Israel really isn't all that friendly

Former Hamas official released by gunmen in Syria A former senior Hamas official has been released from captivity in Syria, after being held for two days by unidentified gunmen, his Gaza-based family told solaa. Mustafa Liddawi was seized at gunpoint near his home in Damascus' al-Yarmouk refugee camp on Saturday. It was not immediately clear who was behind his capture. His family said he was released late Monday night. They told solaa he was tortured during interrogation and take