ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, rejecting U.S. calls to renew peace talks with Israel, says there must be a total West Bank settlement freeze first.

JERUSALEM, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says he has asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to quash the Goldstone Report.

JERUSALEM, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Russia's vote to adopt a U.N. report accusing Israel of war crimes endangers its hopes of hosting a Middle East conference, an Israeli official says.

JERUSALEM, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Israel has complained to the Turkish Embassy about a fictional drama aired on a Turkish state television channel depicting atrocities by Israeli soldiers.

U.S. Envoy George Mitchell is looking for an "early launch" of talks between Israelis and Palestinians but an Israeli leader said peace in the region can't be expected soon.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. and Israeli efforts to put Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah in the dock for international terrorism gathered momentum when authorities here indicted former Argentine President Carlos Menem in connection with a deadly Buenos Aires bombing 15 years ago.

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's recent five-country tour of Africa was more about building up intelligence links and selling arms than diplomacy, according to one Israeli intelligence specialist.

ABUJA, Nigeria, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- As the mid-September deadline for a cease-fire in Nigeria's oil war approaches with no sign of a mass surrender by rebels who have shattered the country's oil production, President Umaru Yar'Adua is preparing for an all-out army offensive, according to published reports.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- An Israeli official says a decision by Spain's top diplomat to cancel a meeting with his Israeli counterpart indicates Spain's priorities are "distorted."