Palestinian leaders reverse course accusing Hamas of taking advantage of UN report

October 8th, 2009 Palestinians change course on UN reportUNITED NATIONS — The Palestinian leadership has quickly backtracked in its approach to a U.N. report accusing Israel of possible war crimes in Gaza, in what its top diplomat acknowledged Thursday is erupting into a "clear crisis" for its people.

October 7th, 2009 Palestinian Hamas bans motorbike rides for womenGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Hamas government has banned motorcycle riders from carrying women on the back seat — the latest in the militants' virtue campaign in Gaza. The ban was posted on Hamas Interior Ministry Web site on Tuesday.

September 2nd, 2009 Israel releases 9 Hamas lawmakers from prisonRAMALLAH, West Bank — A Hamas legislator in the West Bank says Israel has released nine other Hamas lawmakers from Israeli prisons. The legislator, Mahmoud Ramahi, says the men had all completed 40-month prison terms and their release Wednesday did not appear to be a gesture from Israel.

August 15th, 2009 RAFAH - The leader of pro-Al Qaeda group Jihad al-Salafi was killed during Friday's clash with Hamas in which 20 other people died and 120 were wounded, hospital sources said Saturday. Abdel Latif Moussa, leader of the Jihad al-Salafi group also known as the Warriors of God, died during the fighting, hospital sources in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah said.

July 27th, 2009 Hamas threatens to derail Fatah conferenceRAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah on Monday were locked in a new dispute that threatens to derail next week's Fatah convention, seen as key to rehabilitating the corruption-stained party that has led peace talks with Israel. Officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Monday they would only allow Fatah delegates to leave the territory and travel to the conference if Fatah's leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, releases hundreds of Hamas detainees in the West Bank, where his Western-backed Palestinian Authority is based.

July 6th, 2009 Hamas cartoon mocks captured Israeli soldierJERUSALEM — Hamas TV in Gaza has broadcast a short animated movie mocking an Israeli soldier captured by the militant Islamic group three years ago. Israeli media played excerpts of the movie Monday.

June 25th, 2009 Hamas leader welcomes Obama's new Mideast approachDAMASCUS, Syria — The top Hamas leader on Thursday welcomed what he said is "new language" by President Barack Obama toward the Islamic militant group — part of Hamas' cautious outreach to Washington in recent weeks. In a televised speech, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal avoided any mention of the recent turmoil in Iran, even though the Islamic militant group is backed by the Tehran regime.

June 23rd, 2009 Israel to free Palestinian parliament speakerJERUSALEM — Israel's prison service says it is freeing the Hamas-affiliated speaker of the Palestinian parliament after nearly three years in jail. Abdel Aziz Duaik was one of dozens of Hamas politicians arrested after Hamas-linked militants captured an Israeli soldier in June 2006.

June 9th, 2009 Hamas leader: Israeli settlement freeze essentialCAIRO — The top leader of the militant Hamas group said Tuesday that President Barack Obama's pressure on Israel to freeze construction in West Bank settlements was an essential step toward restarting peace efforts. The militant group — which is eager to win international acceptance of its rule in Gaza though it is shunned by the U.S.

June 8th, 2009 Hamas official says Obama should talk to militantsDAMASCUS, Syria — An exiled Hamas leader urged Barack Obama on Monday to talk directly with the militant group, saying it is the representative of the Palestinian people and the American president's drive for Mideast peace is impossible without them. Hamas' deputy political leader, Moussa Abu Marzouk, also told The Associated Press that the group would not renounce violence — a key U.S.

June 8th, 2009 4 Palestinian fighters killed in Gaza border clashGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops killed four Palestinian gunmen early Monday in a flare-up of violence along the tense frontier between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza, a Palestinian official said. A group of around 10 gunmen were trying to cross the border fence into Israel when they were spotted by troops, according to Palestinian security officials.

May 31st, 2009 Shootout between Palestinian police, Hamas kills 6QALQILIYA, West Bank — A gunbattle between Palestinian police and Hamas militants killed six people Sunday, security officials said, in the deadliest outbreak of violence since President Mahmoud Abbas began a crackdown against Hamas two years ago. Three of the dead were Palestinian policemen loyal to the Western-backed Abbas, the security officials said.

May 31st, 2009 6 dead in internal Palestinian fightingQALQILIYA, West Bank — Palestinian security officials say six people have been killed in a firefight between Hamas fighters and Palestinian policemen in the West Bank. The officials say three of the men are Palestinian policemen loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

May 5th, 2009 Iranian president to meet Palestinians in SyriaDAMASCUS, Syria — The leader of a Palestinian faction says Iran's president will meet with the leaders of 10 hard-line Palestinian groups on a visit to Syria's capital in a message to the new right-wing Israeli government. Khaled Abdul-Majid of the Syrian-based Popular Struggle Front says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will meet the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other groups Tuesday in Damascus.

February 3rd, 2009 HERZLIA - Diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear programme must be accompanied by a clear timeline, after which harsh sanctions could be imposed, accompanied by a willingness to act, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said. He told an international conference in Herzlia, north of Tel Aviv, Tuesday that all options regarding Iran were on the table.