Carter’s Middle East trip to include visit with captive’s father, tour of West Bank settlement

September 21st, 2009 Carter says Israel must stop building settlementsHARRISONBURG, Virginia — Israel must stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories if peace is ever to be achieved in the Middle East, former President Jimmy Carter said Monday night as he received an award at a Virginia university for his humanitarian efforts. "As President Barack Obama has made clear, the key factor that prevents peace is the continuing building of Israeli settlements in Palestine, driven by a determined minority of Israelis who desire to occupy and colonize east Jerusalem and the West Bank," Carter said.

September 4th, 2009 Moussa: no to settlement freeze without JerusalemCERNOBBIO, Italy — The Arab League chief says any Israeli offer for a settlement freeze that doesn't include east Jerusalem is unacceptable and "will suspend the peace process." Amr Moussa spoke Friday at a conference on Italy's Lake Como. Moussa said a freeze of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians hope to make their capital, is a precondition for any meaningful talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

September 3rd, 2009 Aide: Netanyahu considering settlement freezeJERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be willing to consider suspending construction in the West Bank for several months — but first plans to authorize hundreds of new apartments there, an aide said Friday. The U.S. has been pressing Israel to agree to a settlement freeze, and the Palestinians have said they would not resume peace talks unless Israel suspends construction on lands they want for a future state.

August 31st, 2009 EU: Fresh Mideast talks could be announced soonJERUSALEM — A top European Union official said Monday that renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks could be announced in late September. The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he expected a plan to reopen negotiations to emerge with the opening of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept.

August 28th, 2009 Egypt: Israeli freeze must include east JerusalemSTOCKHOLM — Egypt's foreign minister says east Jerusalem must be included in a freeze of Israeli settlement activity before Middle East peace talks can restart. Ahmed Aboul-Gheit told reporters in Stockholm on Friday that Jerusalem is Arab "and it will continue to be so." He said the Arab world expects the area to be included in a moratorium on Israeli settlements.

August 18th, 2009 Republican Huckabee in Israel slams 2-state optionJERUSALEM — Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is pressing on with a provocative tour of Israel and backing Israel's policies at the heart of increasingly tense U.S.-Israeli relations. Huckabee says that establishing a Palestinian state in "the middle of the Jewish homeland" would be "unrealistic." He spoke to reporters on Tuesday.

July 28th, 2009 Netanyahu, US envoy try to resolve settlement spatJERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell are trying to resolve a public dispute over Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

July 20th, 2009 Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian fieldsNABLUS, West Bank — More than 30 Israeli settlers, some of them on horseback, set fire to fields and olive trees and stoned Palestinian cars during a rampage in the West Bank on Monday, a Palestinian official said. Two Palestinians were lightly injured.

June 7th, 2009 Former president Carter makes Middle East tripATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter will visit Syria, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza this week to promote constructive dialogue on the Israeli-Arab conflict. Carter is in the region already as a representative of the nonprofit Carter Center, which works to advance peace and health worldwide.

June 2nd, 2009 Obama official meets Israeli defense ministerWASHINGTON — The White House's national security adviser met with Israel's defense minister Tuesday, just hours before President Barack Obama leaves on a trip to the Middle East to improve relations with Muslims. National Security Adviser Gen.

May 4th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Several leading tour operators from Britain arrived here Monday for a four-day Kerala familiarisation trip. The group includes senior officials of top British tour companies Carlton Leisure, Crystal, Exodus, Explore, Allison Brothers and Kuoni and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Ethihad Airways.

January 13th, 2009 CAIRO - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Cairo Wednesday at the start of a Middle East tour to seek an end to Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Ban was expected to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday to discuss Cairo's initiative for a ceasefire in the current conflict.

January 7th, 2009 NEW YORK - The search for a sustainable Israel-Hamas ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was emerging as countries engaged in resolving the conflict were reaching a consensus, a UN official said Wednesday. 'It seems that the elements for a way out of this crisis are emerging, but more work needs to be done quickly to flesh out a package and secure a buy-in of the crucial players,' Robert Serry, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process said at UN headquarters in New York.

January 1st, 2009 STOCKHOLM - The foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, France and Sweden are to visit the Middle East Sunday amid the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, the Swedish foreign ministry said Friday. Czech Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Sweden's Carl Bildt are due to begin their visit Sunday in Cairo, a foreign ministry statement said.

December 29th, 2008 LONDON - Former British premier Tony Blair is to visit the Middle East next week to try and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, according to a report Tuesday. Blair, the Middle East envoy for the EU, Russia, the US and Britain, is to meet Israeli and Palestinian officials and politicians in his efforts to bring an end to a conflict that has killed 300 people so far.