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French MPs Vote in Favor of Recognizing Palestine

French lawmakers voted Tuesday in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state, sparking an immediate angry reaction from Israel which said such "unilateral measures" would harm efforts towards Middle East peace.

Following hot on the heels of similar votes in Britain and Spain, French MPs voted 339 to 151 in favor of a motion urging the government to recognize the state of Palestine as a way of achieving a "definitive resolution of the conflict."

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Top Israeli Court to Rule on Punitive Demolitions

Israel's Supreme Court is to rule Wednesday on the planned demolition of several east Jerusalem homes as punishment for deadly attacks carried out by Palestinians, a rights group said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early in November ordered the demolition of the family homes of Palestinians who carried out attacks on Israelis.

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France Urges Swift End to Mideast Conflict as MPs Debate Palestine

France's foreign minister Friday urged a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within two years, as French MPs debated a symbolic motion to recognize Palestine as a state.

Laurent Fabius said the United Nations Security Council was working on a resolution to relaunch and conclude talks. "A deadline of two years is the one most often mentioned and the French government can agree with this figure," he told MPs.

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Shot Israeli Nationalist Rabbi Defends al-Aqsa Stance

Israeli rabbi Yehuda Glick, who survived a murder attempt after calling for Jewish prayer rights at Jerusalem's flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound, defended his stance on his release from hospital Monday.

Glick was shot four times by a masked gunman in Jerusalem on October 29.

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Israeli Stabbed by Palestinians in East Jerusalem

An Israeli student of a Jewish seminary was stabbed in the Old City of annexed east Jerusalem late Monday, leading to the arrests of three alleged Palestinian assailants, police said.

The Israeli suffered serious wounds when he was attacked by several Palestinians at the yeshiva, or seminary, where he studied in the Old City, the police said.

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Netanyahu Warns of 'Grave Mistake' if France Recognizes Palestine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that France's parliament would be making a "grave mistake" if it recognizes a Palestinian state in a vote on December 2. 

"Do they have nothing better to do at a time of beheadings across the Middle East, including that of a French citizen?" he told reporters in Jerusalem, referring to hiker Herve Gourdel who was executed by his jihadist captors in Algeria in September.

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Israeli Policeman Charged with Manslaughter of Palestinian Teen

A Jerusalem court on Sunday charged an Israeli border policeman with manslaughter in the May shooting to death of a young Palestinian during a West Bank demonstration.

"A charge of manslaughter has been filed against the defendant," a court transcript said.

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No Age Bar for Friday Prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa

Israeli police said they do not plan to bar young Muslim worshipers from Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, for the second week running after months of restrictions.

"So far, restrictions on entry of worshipers will not be imposed," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement late Thursday.

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78 New Settler Homes Approved for East Jerusalem

The Jerusalem municipality said it approved Wednesday the construction of 78 new homes for Jewish settlers in two neighborhoods of occupied Arab east Jerusalem.

The announcement comes with tensions in the Holy City at the highest in years, partly over Palestinian objections to Jewish settlers moving in.

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EU 'Deplores' Israeli Settlement Plans but Says No Sanctions

The European Union said Monday it deplored Israeli plans to build new settlements on occupied Palestinian territory but denied outright that it planned sanctions against Israel as a result.

There was "no plan of this type," new EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said when asked about an Israeli press report on the issue.

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