Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played the spoiler to Iran's attempts to ease relations with the West, calling the Iranian leader "a wolf in sheep's clothing".

Despite soothing assurances from Iran's new leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored US President Barack Obama to keep punishing sanctions in place against Tehran.

Israel wants to remain in control of 40 per cent of the West Bank and leave dozens of settlements intact as part of a peace deal that will create a Palestinian state with only temporary borders, according to Palestinian sources.

They scamper in front of you as you walk along the footpath. They skulk in the dark in the evenings. They sun themselves on top of the rubbish bins.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully will travel to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories today for bilateral meetings and discussions on the Middle East Peace Process.

Visit Israel and you swiftly adjust to the solemnity with which its people honours its history, as Kevin Pilley found.

A fly with a water droplet balanced on its head features in an incredible up-close-and-personal series of pictures of bugs in amazingly sharp detail.

The news footage played a sorry little tale: a typical set-up and typical photo op in a dimmed room with two drooping flags.

Renewing US support for the difficult "work of generations," President Barack Obama has assured Israel that his administration would pursue an elusive Mideast peace.

A peace activist was detained for 48 hours before being sent back to New Zealand for trying to enter Israel on a tourist visa.

Marina Erakovic's recent run of good form came to an abrupt halt yesterday when she was ousted in the first round of the prestigious Indian Wells tennis tournament in California, going down 6-3 6-4 to former world No 12 Shahar Peer from Israel.

Hamas and Fatah, the two rival Palestinian political factions, are in talks about forming a unity government, with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal claiming long-stalled elections in the occupied territories are also being planned.

A polling station inside Israel's embassy in Wellington has received the first vote for the 19th Knesset elections.

Leslie Bravery responds to the Israeli ambassador's comments on the Gaza conflict

The Sea of Galilee is a must for any tourist on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After all, it is mentioned frequently in the New Testament.

Israel needs to "flatten all of Gaza" in order to spare the lives of Israeli soldiers and civilians, according to a son of former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon.