Some experts feel that Israel got so totally engrossed in countering Iran and in efforts to foil the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme that it has neglected its own backyard.
Abbas seeks India's role in peace process as PM Modi visits Palestine.
The United Nations has expressed regret that noted human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin will not be able to serve on an independent inquiry commission that will investigate possible human rights violations and war crimes committed, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Stepping up its offensive, Israeli forces on Wednesday hit about 200 targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killing at least 17 people, triggering a retaliation from the Palestinian group which fired a barrage of rockets deep into the Jewish state in the bloodiest conflict since 2012.
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated David Friedman, a fervent opponent to "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as his ambassador to Israel to maintain the special relationship between the two allies.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States recognises -- as have Israeli courts -- the legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground.
The decision to speak to the political convention in pre-recorded remarks from Jerusalem breaks with the longstanding precedent of sitting secretaries of state avoiding partisan politics and appears to violate guidance on political activities that Pompeo himself emphasised in a cable to diplomats just last month.
Although most of Kosovo is ethnically Albanian, many Serbs consider it their native homeland and a cradle of their culture. Some 13,000 people were killed in the 1998-1999 war, sparked by clashes between the forces of the rump Yugoslav state -- Serbia and Montenegro -- and Kosovo separatists. The conflict ended when NATO carried out an air campaign against Serbia.
Israeli jets on Tuesday pounded 50 Hamas targets on the Gaza Strip injuring at least 17 Palestinians as part of a military offensive code-named 'Protective Edge' after a barrage of rockets hit southern Israel amid escalating tensions in the region.
India has for the first time abstained from voting on a resolution on Palestine adopted at the UN rights body that calls for accountability by parties involved in last year's conflict in Gaza.
Israeli troops backed by tanks and drones on Thursday continued to pound Gaza in its operation against Hamas, defying mounting calls for restraint and a United Nations vote to investigate the deadly offensive that has killed 720 Palestinians and 34 Israelis.
Here are some of the most stunning moments of the week that was.
Israel threatened to wipe out Hamas if current truce in Gaza collapsed as time ran out on Wednesday on the 72-hour ceasefire with no breakthrough in indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators due to "significant disagreements".
Eyebrows went north in India, especially in New Delhi where in the confusion some people criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which is based in New York. Chitra Subramaniam offers some perspective.
The Arab Accord -- essentially bilateral agreements with Israel -- does not mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States envoy to the Middle East on Tuesday pressed Israel on "prompt resumption" of the stalled peace talks with Palestine, amid sharp differences between Washington and Tel Aviv over settlement activities in disputed areas.
But he politely asked the Israeli head of the government to 'hold back' on settlements in territory claimed by the Palestinians for their future state: 'for a little bit'.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin arrived on Monday on an eight-day visit to India, the first by any Israeli President in nearly two decades.
He said India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.
'I wear heels. It's not for a fashion statement.' 'It's because if I see something wrong, we're going to kick them every single time.' 'If you challenge us, be prepared for what you're challenging us for, because we will respond.'
Intel and Motorola might dump Israel in favour of India and China as the hub of their activities, the Israeli representative of global IT consulting firm Gartner said.
FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, visiting the Middle East to try to persuade the Palestine FA (PFA) to drop a proposal to suspend Israel from the world body, on Tuesday proposed a peace match.
The Israeli diplomat also underlined that the objective of the attack was to cripple the Indian society, economy and culture, as well as the growing bilateral relationship between India and Israel.
Rediff.com brings you glimpses of how Muslims across the globe are observing the month of fasting and the holiest period for the Islamic faith.
The former Central Intelligence Agency director, was confirmed by the Senate by 57-42 votes. He replaced Rex Tillerson, who was fired by US President Donald Trump last month.
It is well known that Israel would welcome a diplomatic relationship with Pakistan and feelings of a section of the Pakistani military were likewise.
'The project of a united Europe has constantly been made and remade.' 'The national borders have changed many, many times and so have the languages.' 'Britain's exit is only the latest episode in this long history,' says Aakar Patel.
The two countries also decided to expand trade and commercial ties holding that there are opportunities to exploit untapped economic potential in the two countries.
The United States on Sunday warned Syria that it has taken no options off the table after striking a deal with Russia to destroy Damascus's chemical weapons stockpile and asserted that military action against the Assad regime still remains "real".
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the collapse of a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, asking Israel and the Palestinians factions to reach an immediate understanding on a durable truce.
Bloodbath in Gaza continued unabated today with Israel and Hamas refusing to back down in the conflict that has killed over 660 Palestinians and 31 Israelis, even as US Secretary of State John Kerry said his ceasefire negotiations in Jerusalem were making progress.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was facing "imminent" death with doctors pessimistic about his life-threatening condition, the hospital where he has been in coma since a 2006 stroke said on Sunday.
A report in a daily said that Pakistan was worried over the visit as it could have serious implications on strategic stability in the region.
An uneasy 72-hour ceasefire brokered by Egypt between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups began on Tuesday morning after a month of fighting, with Hamas firing a salvo of long-range rockets minutes before the truce, calling them revenge for Israel's "massacres".
United States Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to India on June 23 to co-chair the 4th India-US strategic dialogue, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
'When the national anthem of India was sung and joined by all present with the PM in front, it was the best moment of the whole night.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It has been rated second after Cambodia's Angkor Wat.
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