MIDEASTA

AFP – European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday urged Israel to reverse a decision to build new homes in occupied east Jerusalem that she warned could throttle peace talks.

AP – Israel’s plan to build 1,600 new apartments in contested east Jerusalem has thrown a spotlight on the city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

AFP – Middle Eastern countries feel tricked by the 40-year-old nuclear non proliferation treaty, an Egyptian diplomat warned on Wednesday, less than two months before crucial talks on the arms control deal.

AFP – The father of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on Wednesday urged Europe to use heavy aid to pressure the Palestinians into releasing him.

AP – In a move likely to worsen EU ties with Israel, the European Parliament urged its 27-member states Wednesday to monitor the Israeli and Palestinian probes into alleged war crimes in Gaza.

AP – The family of an American activist who was fatally crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza accused the Israeli military of whitewashing its investigation into the death Wednesday in opening a civil case against Israel.

AFP – US Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday Israel’s decision to expand settlement activity in Jerusalem “undermines” the trust needed for peace talks.

AFP – Prospects for indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks lay in tatters after the Arab League came out against them unless Israel reversed its plans to build more settler homes in the occupied territories.

AFP – Australia joined international condemnation Thursday of Israel’s plan to build 1,600 new homes in Jerusalem, saying the move was “not helpful” to building peace with the Palestinians.

AP – An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the U.S. failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too weak to broker a deal.