Washington  - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday there will not be a complete freeze on settlement expansions, rebuffing a key demand by the United States for moving forward on the Mideast peace process.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama said Monday there was some "positive movement" towards peace after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognized the Palestinians' right to an independent state.

Washington  - The United States will be looking to engage all sides in a bid to revive the Middle East peace process, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US President Barack Obama Thursday at the White House.

New York - Russia, which took over the presidency of the UN Security Council in May, called Monday for a debate on the Middle East with the intention to foster a "new impetus" for peace prospects in the region.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama said Tuesday a two- state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical to any peace agreement.

Obama acknowledged that a new Israeli government headed by conservative Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been sceptical of a two state solution, means achieving peace will not be "easier than it was."

Tel Aviv  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem Tuesday morning, meeting President Shimon Peres as part of a 36-hour visit in which she is also to travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leaders.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama called Thursday for Israel and Hamas to adhere to their fragile ceasefire adopted last weekend after three weeks of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Obama called on Israel to complete the pullout of its troops from Gaza and declared that Hamas must end rocket attacks.

Tel Aviv/Gaza City - Israel said it was pausing its offensive in Gaza for another three hours Monday, to allow international organizations to receive and distribute humanitarian aid in the strip.

Tel Aviv/Gaza  - Israel continued its offensive in the Gaza Strip Saturday, pounding over 40 targets overnight, a military spokesman said.

The airstrikes, which came on top of 70 such attacks on Friday, largely targeted smuggling tunnels and weapon manufacturing shops.

Israeli soldiers on the ground said they killed 15 armed men, the spokesman added.

New York - The United States abstained when the UN Security Council voted late Thursday to urge Israel and Hamas to immediately end their fighting and allow humanitarian and medical supplies to reach civilians in the Gaza Strip.