Ehud Olmert on Monday will become the first Israeli prime minister to visit a Palestinian city since the outbreak of fighting seven years ago, meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Jericho to discuss the creation of a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will meet in Jerusalem Monday to discuss practical steps to end the standoff with Islamist extremists in the Palestinian territories, local media reported.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert toured Israel's northern border on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the country's war against Hezbollah guerrillas, declaring the much-criticized military campaign a success that made Israel safer.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resume direct peace negotiations without awaiting U.S. mediation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to hold talks in Egypt, early next week. As VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, Jordan's King Abdullah is also scheduled to attend the summit.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week. Mr. Abbas did not say where the two plan to hold talks, set for Thursday, June 7.

Jordan's King Abdullah has urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to accept an Arab peace initiative for a Middle East settlement.

The testimony of Israel's embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to an official inquiry investigating last year's Lebanon War has been released for publication. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, his comments have brought further calls for his resignation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remains defiant after a mass rally demanding his resignation. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the embattled leader has faced an avalanche of criticism since Monday, when an official commission of inquiry issued its interim report on last year's Lebanon War.

Tens of thousands of Israelis hit the streets at a massive rally asking Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz of Israel to resign in the wake of a damning report by a committee investigating last year's war with Hezbollah.

The campaign to oust Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shifted to the streets on Thursday, with a mass rally in Tel Aviv expected to draw tens of thousands of opponents calling for the embattled Israeli leader's head.

Pressure is growing on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign, following the publication this week of a report critical of his leadership during last year's war in Lebanon. As VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, Israeli media outlets report the country's defense minister, who was also criticized in the Lebanon War report, could resign, later Wednesday.