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Map of Israel's East Jerusalem housing plan
Israel's approval for building 1,600 new housing units for ultra-Orthodox Jews in East Jerusalem has infuriated the Palestinians.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, a Palestinian Authority spokesman, told the AFP news agency: This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations.
The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now condemned the new project, saying it would widen the gap with the Palestinians and the two-state solution, which risks becoming obsolete.
According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, some 50,000 housing units are reported to be in various stages of planning and approval on occupied land in East Jerusalem.
Haaretz says plans for around 20,000 apartments are already in an advanced stage.
A spokesman for the Israeli interior ministry said: The Jerusalem District Planning Committee today approved a plan which has been in the works for over three years.
This is a procedural stage in the framework of a long process that will yet continue for some time. The committee meeting was determined in advance and there is no connection to US Vice-President Joe Biden's visit to Israel.
There are still various planning hurdles for the East Jerusalem project to clear, and work is not thought likely to start for at least another two years.
Under pressure from the US, Israel has agreed a 10-month suspension of new building in the West Bank.
However, the moratorium excludes East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.
Israel's continued expansion of settlements is one of the biggest obstacles to the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, now suspended for more than a year despite months of US-led shuttle diplomacy.
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Palestinian anger spills onto East Jerusalem streets
Palestinian protesters have flooded into East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank to vent their anger over the restoration of a historic synagogue.
They claim Israel's work is endangering the al-Aqsa mosque - one of their most important sites.
Israel's annexing of two other holy sites last month plans to build more Jewish settlement homes have further angered Palestinians.
Sherine Tadros reports from occupied East Jerusalem.
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Live Israeli gunfire suspected in Palestinian deaths
Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinian youths on Saturday during a demonstration in their village, Iraq Burin. The Israeli army then issued a statement alleging its soldiers only used rubber-coated steel bullets in the village. But doctors and human rights organisations say their evidence disproves this account. And Al Jazeera has obtained pictures with the clear sound of gunfire, taken by an activist who was at the incident. With such evidence, the army will now be taking a second look at its soldiers account of events (23 March, 2010).
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US accused of plotting to occupy Yemen - 8 Jan 10
The United States has classified Abdul Majeed Zandani, a prominent Yemeni religious leader, as a specially designate global terrorist for alleged ties to al-Qaeda.
Others accuse Zandani of stoking anti-American feeling and inspiring a new generation of suicide bombers.
But Zandani says the growing interest in activities in Yemen is part of a plot to occupy the country.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall reports from Yemen.
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Abbas' move highlights failure of peace process - 06 Nov 09
The decision by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to bow out of politics has raised doubts over the future of the Middle East peace process.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, in praising his efforts said she would work with Abbas in whatever capacity he was working in the future.
But it remains to be seen if the US, whose backing of the Israeli position on illegal settlements led to Abbas' decision, will now try to keep him.
Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports.
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Israel's Ethiopian migrants struggle to integrate - 05 Nov 09
Ybase Chekol, an Ethiopian Christian man, says his ancestors were among a group of Jews known as the Falash Mura who were forced to convert to Christianity more than 100 years ago.
Now, he and his family have moved to Israel, where Israeli law allows the Falash Mura to become citizens - if they embrace Judaism.
But as Nicole Johnston reports from Jerusalem, discrimination makes it hard for many of these immigrants to succeed in Israeli society.
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Iran guard commanders targeted in co-ordinated attacks - 18 Oct 09
At least 11 commanders of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have been killed and dozens of others injured in a suicide attack near the nation's southeastern frontier with Pakistan.
The attack marks an escalation in hostilities between Iran's leadership and the Baluchis, one of the nation's many disgruntled ethnic and religious minorities.
Nazanine Moshiri has this report.
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YouTube - Benazir Bhutto killed at election rally - 27 Dec 07
Shock and disbelief in Pakistan.Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister of Pakistan, was shot in the neck as she was getting into her car after addressing a rally of PPP supporters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. She had been campaigning ahead of the elections due in January.
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