Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has expressed hope that the upcoming Arab Summit will produce an outcome that bridges the gap between Arab nations and consolidates solidarity among them.

During a meeting with visiting Libyan Foreign Minister Mousa Kousa in Damascus on Sunday, Assad stated that the next Arab Summit &0151; which is to be held in the Libyan capital Tripoli from March 27 to 28 — must come up with resolutions that serve Arab interests, particularly the Palestinian cause, and an Arab action plan to lift the siege of the Gaza Strip, the SANA news agency reported.

Partial results, now in from all Iraqi provinces, show Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bloc is leading in the parliamentary elections.

With more than 60 percent of the votes counted from 18 provinces, Maliki's State of Law alliance is ahead in seven key provinces including Basra and Karbala. His bloc is also ahead in the capital Baghdad.

A leading member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Mahmoud al-Zahar, says that negotiations between the Palestinian resistance movement and Israel over a prisoner swap involving Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and hundreds of long-serving Palestinian prisoners would be impossible unless the demands of Hamas are met.

"We look forward to seeing our people free and would like to give a chance to the Israeli family to see their loved one. The Israeli side, however, is backtracking on its promise, despite rounds of talks held," al-Zahar said at the Islamic University in Gaza city on Sunday.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has embarked on a Middle East tour to position Brazil as a mediator in the region.

He arrived in Jerusalem on the first leg of his journey on Sunday.

Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed a clergyman outside a mosque in a predominantly Shia neighborhood in the northeastern Iraqi city of Mosul.

"On Sunday, militants killed Sheikh Dawoud al-Anzi in a shooting outside the Habibana al-Mustafa Mosque in the al-Zahraa neighborhood after the clergyman had finished evening prayers," an Iraqi police source told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki congratulated the people of Iraq on holding a successful general election in his last meeting with the outgoing Iraqi ambassador.

"The Iraqi elections showed that despite enemy plots, it is the people of Iraq who determine their country's destiny," Mottaki told Iraq's ambassador to Tehran, Mohammad Majid al-Sheikh.

A Turkish soldier has been killed and another was injured in a military operation against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Hakkari near the Iraqi border.

The clashes took place late on Friday when members of the Turkish military patrolling near the village of Yuksekova Dagli came across a group of PKK militants. The Turkish soldiers told the rebels to surrender, but they responded by opening fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed regret over the announcement he made about a Jewish settlement plan that strained ties with the US and undermined efforts to jumpstart the stalled Middle East peace talks.

"There was a regrettable incident here that occurred innocently," Netanyahu said on Sunday.

As Iran prepares for the Persian New Year, the Judiciary chief said Sunday the events of the past year, which ends March 21st, have made the Islamic Republic stronger than before.

Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said although the year was "bittersweet," its events had paved the ground for the foundation of the revolution, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported.

Israeli authorities ordered the demolition of an under-construction mosque in the northern West Bank village of Burin on Sunday, head of the Palestinian Authority's settlement portfolio said.

Ghassan Daghlas explained that the Israeli Civil Administration ordered a stop on construction work at the Salman Al-Farisi Mosque, demanding the demolition of the three-story mosque's already built structures.