Geneva  - The establishment of a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East would require peace between the region's nations and had to be reached on the basis of free consent, Israel said Thursday.

While the Jewish State supported the idea of a non-conventional weapons-free region "eventually", Israel would have to be part of the process and have its right to exist recognized.

"We would need peace, reconciliation and the recognition of every state's right to live in peace," Meir Itzchaki, the Israeli representative to the Conference on Disarmament, told Deutsche Press- Agentur dpa.

Cairo  - Negotiations between Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo produced scant progress as the third day of talks closed, according to Egyptian media reports.

Cairo's official Middle East News Agency quoted Jamal Yussef, a leading member of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, as saying an agreement had been reached on "domestic and international security," but he did not specify its substance.

Gaza/Tel Aviv  - Israel attacked smuggling tunnels along the Gaza Strip's southern border with Egypt early Thursday, responding to ongoing rocket and mortar fire from the coastal salient, the Israeli military said.

Two tunnels were destroyed in the overnight airstrike near Rafah, a military spokeswoman said.

She said the strike was a response to the firing of four rockets and one mortar shell by Palestinian militants into southern Israel the previous day.

Gaza militants have fired almost 170 rockets and mortar shells at southern Israeli towns and villages since January 18 when Israel ended a ferocious, 22-day offensive that aimed but has thus far failed to curb such attacks.

Riyadh/Cairo  - A summit hosted by Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday in Riyadh was aimed at "clearing the air" among the Arab states, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said.

The meeting brought together Abdullah, Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, his Egyptian counterpart Hosny Mubarak and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

It was held to iron out relations among the Arab states ahead of Qatar's Arab summit at the end of the month.

Cairo  - Saudi Arabian King Abdullah is to host a summit Wednesday in Riyadh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a bid to strengthen relations between the Arab states.

"The summit is seen as preparation for the Arab League summit in Doha," expected to be held on March 30, the official MENA news agency quoted Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki as saying.

Tel Aviv  - A Palestinian family who lost 29 members in Israel's recent offensive in Gaza filed a law suit Tuesday against the Israeli leadership, demanding some 200 million dollars in compensation, Israeli media reported.

The Samouni family, from the southern Gaza City suburb of Zaytoun, filed the suit at a court in northern Israel against outgoing Israeli premier Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.