Middle East

Saudi King Abdullah to meet with Syrian, Egyptian leaders

Hosni Mubarak and Bashar al-Assad  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.

Gaza family who lost 29 members in offensive sues Israel

Gaza family who lost 29 members in offensive sues Israel 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.

Israeli airstrike kills militant in northern Gaza

Israeli airstrike kills militant in northern Gaza Gaza  - An Islamic Jihad militant was killed early on Saturday morning in an Israeli airstrike on a group of militants in northern Gaza Strip, the group and medics said.

The Islamic Jihad armed wing Saraya al-Quds said in a statement sent to reporters that Yasser Faraj, one of its militants, was killed near the town of Beit Lahia in an Israeli airstrike.

The group said that Faraj was killed by the Israeli missile after he had fired a barrage of rockets from northern Gaza Strip at southern Israel. No other injuries were reported.

Gaza militants renew rocket attacks after Israeli airstrikes

Gaza militants renew rocket attacks after Israeli airstrikes Gaza/Tel Aviv  - Palestinian militants fired another rocket into southern Israel Friday morning, after a day of pin-point Israeli airstrikes which retaliated against more such rocket attacks.

Israeli security forces were still tracking down the rocket's landing place, a military spokesman in Tel Aviv said.

Israel bombed four smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza town of Rafah Thursday night, after destroying a fifth tunnel earlier in the afternoon.

New Israeli airstrike kills two in Gaza

Gaza City  - Israel carried out a fresh airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, the second air attack in some 12 hours, killing two Palestinians, health officials said.

Gaza emergency services chief Mo'aweya Hassanein said an Israeli pilotless drone fired one missile at a group of Palestinians east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, near the border with Israel.

There were no other injuries, said Hassanein, who could not say whether the two fatalities were militants or civilians. Witnesses said they were militants, however.

Arab countries fear Bashir arrest warrant's impact on Darfur

Arab countries fear Bashir arrest warrant's impact on Darfur Cairo  - Officials gathered at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday said they feared an international arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir could harm efforts to strike a peace deal in Darfur.

"We support the conduct of justice," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said after an emergency meeting of the 22-member body to discuss the court's decision. "But we fear for the stability of Darfur."

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