New York - The United Nations on Wednesday expressed concern about the lack of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the increasing violence two months after Israel declared a unilateral end to hostilities.

UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe said the Middle East is faced with a "worrying situation of impasse and uncertainty."

Tel Aviv - Israeli police were on high alert Tuesday morning as a group of extreme right-wing Jewish activists was scheduled to march outside the largest Arab town in northern Israel.

Thousands of police were deployed at the entrances to Umm el-Fahm and on key roads.

The town's Arab-Israeli residents have condemned the march, during which the activists plan to wave Israeli flags. Residents have called it a provocation.

Beirut  - Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Monday that Arabs should "unite in the face of terrorism" and proposed an Arab observatory to combat terrorism through constant monitoring of suspicious activities and financial transactions.

He said that the conference of Arab interior ministers Sunday in Beirut "was an indication of Arab trust in Lebanon."

Jerusalem/Haifa  - The Islamic Hamas movement wants to boost its position in the West Bank to launch attacks on Israel, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert charged Sunday.

Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Olmert told ministers that "terrorist organizations' attempts to perpetrate attacks within Israel's borders and in the heart of the country are an ongoing affair."

Bethlehem - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday reiterated calls for Israel to accept a two-state solution, vowing not to resume negotiations with Israel without an explicit Israeli recognition of previously signed agreements.

Addressing an audience at the opening of an event celebrating Jerusalem's role in Arab culture, Abbas said justice and peace will not come to the Middle East without "an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

"Jerusalem is the key for peace," said Abbas.

Geneva  - The recent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip lacked a legal basis and potentially amounted to a "crime against peace," according to a United Nations expert report available on the internet Friday.

Israel did not exhaust the diplomatic options available to it before engaging in the conflict, Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, wrote in the report.