Israel eases Gaza blockade

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Israel has announced it will ease the land blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory. An Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza last month was widely condemned. Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade after the Islamist Hamas movement took control of Gaza in 2007. Marco Werman talks with the BBC’s John Donnison who is in Gaza. Download MP3 (AFP photo of Hamas naval police/Mahmud Hams)

• BBC coverage
• Gaza under blockade

Turkey buries its Gaza flotilla dead

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Emotions are running high in Turkey at funerals for nine activists, all Turkish or of Turkish origin, killed in Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla. The bodies were flown from Israel to Istanbul, along with more than 450 activists, to a heroes’ welcome. Israel has said there is no need for an international inquiry into the incident, insisting its own will meet the “highest international standards”. Marco Werman speaks with the BBC’s Bethany Bell in Istanbul. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Aid deliveries into Gaza
• In pictures: Funerals in Turkey

Israel deports Gaza activists

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Israel is deporting hundreds of foreign activists detained after the deadly raid on an aid flotilla trying to break its blockade of Gaza. Nine activists died when Israeli commandos boarded the convoy on Monday. Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to continue the blockade and said lifting it would make the Hamas-controled territory a base for missile attacks. The BBC’s Jon Donnison in Gaza describes the kind of aid the activists were trying to deliver. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• In pictures: Gaza activists released
• Jeb Sharp on Israel’s efforts to blockade Hamas

Israel’s blockade strategy against Hamas

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The UN Security Council has issued a statement calling for an impartial inquiry into Israel’s raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid ships. The statement condemned the “acts” which led to the deaths of at least 10 civilian activists during the operation. The raid sparked strong international condemnation and calls for Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip which has been under the control of the Islamist Hamas since June 2007. Jeb Sharp looks at Israel’s efforts to blockade Hamas. Download MP3 (Photo of Hamas naval police by Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage
• Israeli soldier describes events on raided ship
• Guide: Gaza under blockade

Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship

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At least nine activists have been killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army says. Israel says its soldiers were shot at and attacked with weapons; the activists say Israeli troops came on board shooting. The activists were attempting to defy a blockade imposed by Israel after the Islamist movement Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007. Linda Gradstein reports. Download MP3(Photo: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage
• Middle East crisis
• Egypt blocks Gaza border (Jan)

West Bank tourism

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Jewish settlers have come up with a new campaign to hold onto the West Bank. They want to attract tourists to their area and hope the visitors will not want the West Bank to become part of a Palestinian state. Linda Gradstein reports. Download MP3

• Israel and the Palestinians
• Biden criticizes Israel over building project

Relaunching Mideast talks

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Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks are set to start this week. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on Friday that US special envoy George Mitchell would be returning to the region. Plans to launch the indirect negotiations failed last month over a row about Israeli plans to build 1,600 homes in occupied East Jerusalem. As The World’s Matthew Bell reports, optimism about success is hard to find. (East Jerusalem photo: Matthew Bell) Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Non-violent resistance for Palestinians?
• Cartooning for Peace

Peace process to dominate Arab League summit

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Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Libya this weekend and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the top of their agenda. The World’s Matthew Bell reports on how the Arab states fit into the stalled peace process that the Obama administration wants to revive. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• On The World: Israel and the Jerusalem issue
• Fear and foreboding in the Middle East

Palestinian business hampered by visa problems

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Vice President Biden’s Middle East trip could not change the impression that the peace process there is as stalled as ever. A viable Palestinian state is not imminent and developing the Palestinian economy remains difficult. Investors are even having trouble getting visas to the Palestinian territories – and that’s blocking economic growth in the West Bank. Daniel Estrin reports from Ramallah. Download MP3 (Photo: Daniel Estrin)

• BBC coverage
• On The World: Biden criticizes Israel over building project
• Israel and the Palestinians

Biden criticizes Israel over building project

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Vice-President Joe Biden has again condemned Israel over a controversial building project, saying approval had undermined trust in the peace process. Biden was speaking after meeting the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah (Photo: David Furst/AFP/Getty Images). Linda Gradstein reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Israel and the Palestinians

Global Political Cartoons: Nov 21-25, 2009

Some unexpected images in this week’s cartoons: Oprah’s a saint, Silvio Berlusconi’s a rock star, Israeli settlements are freezing, and the most ubiquitous image on television is a pig.

>>> Click here to start the cartoon slideshow

Gaza conflict

The UN Human Rights Council has backed a report into the Israeli offensive in Gaza that accuses both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes. The report by Richard Goldstone calls for credible investigations by Israel and Hamas, and suggests international war crimes prosecutions if they do not. The United States and Israel opposed official endorsement of the report, saying it would set back Middle East peace hopes.

Mid-east peace: The view from the West Bank

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Climate isn’t the only topic under discussion today in New York. President Obama made his most direct foray into Middle East diplomacy by convening three-way talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. We take you to the West Bank city of Nablus, where The World’s Matthew Bell has been talking to locals and gauging the mood, and the economy. Download MP3 (Photo: Matthew Bell)

• Video: Nablus Street Scenes
• Latest from the BBC
• Breathing life back into Nablus