China said Thursday it will continue to push for a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear standoff, rebuffing efforts by Western powers to introduce a new set of sanctions against Iran.

The Prime Minister's Bureau said Wednesday that Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to meet with the Syrians immediately and without preconditions.

Jewish leaders who met with Vice President Joe Biden stressed the need to convey the Obama administration's message to the Israeli public.

For the first time in two months, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Monday.

Dubai's police chief plans to seek the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the Mossad over the killing of a Hamas leader in the emirate, Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday.

A revered mainstream Muslim scholar is set to announce in London on Tuesday a fatwa (Muslim ruling) against terrorism and suicide bombing in the name of Islam.

Syria is willing to consider peace and gradual normalization with Israel, according to Gabrielle Rifkind of the Oxford Research Group, who met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in December.

Jewish leaders will meet with Vice President Joseph Biden before he tours the Middle East.

At least two of the alleged assassins involved in the killing of a top Hamas leader in Dubai entered the United States after the murder, The Wall Street Journal reported.

An Israeli delegation that traveled to Beijing last week presented detailed intelligence on Iran's nuclear program in an attempt to persuade China that Tehran seeks atomic weapons.