Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said following talks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Israel and the Palestinians have never been so close to a peace deal.

PM's lawyers to cross-examine Talansky as the Police in Israel will question PM Ehud Olmert.

In a major setback to beleaguered Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak threatened to topple the coalition government if the Israeli leader does not step down to face corruption charges based on Morris Talansky's reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says a peace agreement with the Palestinians will not necessarily be concluded by the end of this year.

Israel says it plans to continue crippling sanctions on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, despite international opposition. The announcement was made as three Palestinian gunmen and a civilian were killed in Israeli raids in Gaza. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

US President George W. Bush arrived in Israel late Wednesday morning, at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at dealing with both the threat posed by Iran, as well as advancing towards a Palestinian-Israeli permanent status agreement in the coming year.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is seeking to win wide Arab participation in a US-led peace conference by reaffirming a pledge not to build new Jewish settlements and to uproot smaller outposts.

Israel will set a precondition that the Palestinians recognise it as "a Jewish state" during negotiations after the US sponsored Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said.

Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel, said on Monday he had prostate cancer, but that the cancer was not life-threatening, and he would continue to perform his duties.

No criminal case will be opened against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who was suspected of accepting bribes in two real estate deals.

Israel says it has foiled a Palestinian assassination plot against its prime minister. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the incident is putting further strain on the peace process.

President Vladimir Putin is to discuss Iran 's nuclear program with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is scheduled to fly to Moscow on Thursday.