New York  - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not endanger peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

Visiting the United Nations, Barak said that Olmert, who has been ensnared by a corruption scandal, made the right decision by not seeking re-election as Kadima party leader, meaning he will leave office in September.

New York  - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called Wednesday for tough UN sanctions to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Barak met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at United Nations headquarters in New York, saying that economic sanctions would hurt Iran's nuclear programmes. Iran has said that its uranium enrichment programme was intended for peaceful, civilian nuclear energy and not for weapons.

"We believe that no options should be removed in this regard from the table," Barak told reporters.

Tel Aviv - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the army Friday to prepare injunctions to demolish the home of the East Jerusalem Palestinian who ran amok with a bulldozer in Jerusalem Wedne

Tel Aviv  -  Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Friday he believed Iran could be within two years of developing a nuclear bomb.