JERUSALEM, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has offered Hamas a continued cease-fire along the border with Gaza.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Thousands of demonstrators in Iran on Friday called for the end of blockade actions by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- An estimated 75 percent of Palestinians support a new round of elections if regional reconciliation efforts fail, poll results in the West Bank and Gaza show.

JERUSALEM, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Israeli troops raised their alert level on the Gaza border Thursday ahead of a demonstration marking the founding of Hamas, officials said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The annual Hajj is drawing to a close in Mecca without any major accident, tragedy or terrorist attack. And across the Middle East, developments look -- at least for the moment -- uncharacteristically positive.

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says her country must continue to weaken the Palestinian militant group Hamas despite the current cease-fire in Gaza.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The end of the year traditionally is a good time for reflection. It is a time to take stock of what has been accomplished during the past 12 months and to look forward to what one hopes to achieve over the coming new year. In the case of the Arab world, it's been a dismal year, and the outlook for 2009, regretfully, hardly looks any better. Unless ...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The following are remarks as prepared for delivery Friday by U.S. President George Bush at the Saban Forum in Washington.

CAIRO, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Palestinian Sunni paramilitary organization Hamas is guilty of torpedoing Palestinian reconciliation talks, an Egyptian parliament member said.