Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said the gap between the two sides is very wide. Iranian terrorists in Syria is a major issue to Israel. Mofaz said:

The Syrians are not yet ready for peace, ceding the Heights would mean having the Iranians here, in the Golan Heights, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Although it is widely speculated that Israel indeed has nuclear weapons, no Israeli government official has ever admitted to such.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Hassan Turkmani in Teheran on Monday, and expressed his certainty that Damascus would continue to stand on its previous stance of opposition to Israel.

"The two sides have declared their intention to conduct the negotiations in good faith and with openness."

At least 13 Middle Eastern countries either announced new plans to explore atomic energy or revived pre-existing nuclear programs between February 2006 and January 2007.

The fighting could have implications for the entire Middle East at a time when Sunni-Shiite tensions are high. The tensions are fueled in part by the rivalry between predominantly Shiite Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, and Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

"[Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is calling for Israel to be wiped off the map, and the combination of nuclear weapons in the hands of a deranged extremist religious leader is a nightmare for the world," Peres went on to say.

The Quartet - made up of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - reaffirmed international backing for the goal set at last November's Annapolis conference for a peace accord by the end of 2008.

"Ultimately the best answer is to determine what's going to be in Israel and what's going to be in Palestine," Rice said before meetings with negotiators and leaders on both sides in London and the Mideast.

The Islamic Jihad is willing to accept an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire in the Gaza Strip only if Israel agrees to end its siege on the coastal territory and reopen border crossings, the organization's deputy secretary-general said Wednesday

Yadlin said Military Intelligence had detected preparations among terrorists to combine forces and carry out an ambitious attack, as well as to breach the border between Gaza and Israel,

Hamas would agree to such a peace deal, yet to be negotiated, provided it is "submitted to Palestinians for their overall approval even though Hamas might disagree with some terms of the agreement," Carter said in Jerusalem.

Attacks since early 2006 on Nigerian oil infrastructure by the militant group have cut nearly one-quarter of the country's normal petroleum output. Nigeria is a major supplier of oil to the U.S.

It will enable the Israel Atomic Energy Commission to access most of the latest nuclear safety data, procedures and technology available in the U.S.

Former US president Jimmy Carter was immediately criticized upon his arrival in Israel Sunday by President Shimon Peres, who told him that his plans to meet with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal were a "severe mistake."