Israeli Cabinet

Leaders of the Jewish state and average Israelis alike responded to the death of Jordan's King Hussein on Sunday with heartfelt grief, as if to the loss of a family member rather than an Arab leader. Israeli radio played mourning songs traditionally broadcast during national tragedies, and state television followed events in neighboring Jordan minute by minute.

The Israeli government formally froze its 2-month-old peace accord with the Palestinians on Sunday, in an attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to woo right-wing support ahead of likely elections. His ruling coalition in pieces, Netanyahu faces a parliamentary no-confidence vote today that most politicians believe will topple his government.

After nearly two weeks of postponements, the Israeli Cabinet on Wednesday approved the latest land-for-security agreement with the Palestinians but attached a litany of tough conditions that appeared all but certain to cause new disruptions and delays. The demands by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went well beyond the scope of the written accord signed at the White House on Oct. 23. And they were swiftly, and heatedly, rejected by the Palestinians.

A pair of suicide bombers rammed a car loaded with explosives into Jerusalem's crowded central market during the height of morning shopping Friday, killing themselves and injuring at least 23 people. The blast brought the fragile Israeli-Palestinian peace process to an immediate halt. Israeli Cabinet ministers, meeting less than a mile away in a marathon debate over the 2-week-old Wye agreement, looked out the window, saw the smoke and suspended discussion of the accord indefinitely.

The Israeli Cabinet on Thursday began a marathon debate on the U.S.-brokered Middle East peace deal, amid signs that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fighting to shore up support in his rebellious right wing and indications of a possible new conflict with the Palestinians.

The interim Israeli-Palestinian peace accord hit a snag Tuesday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will not convene his Cabinet to ratify the pact. The Palestinians first must agree to arrest 30 fugitives as part of a promised crackdown against Islamic militants, his spokesman said. Palestinian officials responded angrily to the announcement, which followed a request Monday from Netanyahu to delay implementation of the U.S.

Saddam Hussein didn't win many victories during the first Gulf War, but he did win a critical round in his battle against Israel. It is now known that Israelis, fearful of an attack by nonconventional weapons, abandoned en masse the coastal Tel Aviv metropolis for days, even weeks after the first of 39 conventionally armed, not very deadly Scud missiles were unleashed upon the Jewish state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet put off a decision Sunday on the extent of land Israel wants to retain in the West Bank, while a military-prepared proposal claimed about half the territory for security reasons. With Israel insisting on time to work out its ultimate demands, it seemed unlikely Netanyahu would be able to present Secretary of State Madeleine Albright with a detailed proposal for an interim troop pullback this week.

Ariel Sharon, the hefty former army general called "the Bulldozer" for his unrelenting pursuit of right-wing political goals, was sworn in as a member of the Israeli Cabinet on Monday to head a powerful new Infrastructure Ministry pieced together just for him.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet on Sunday approved creation of a ministry for Ariel Sharon, capping a three-week effort to bring the combative retired general into the government. Netanyahu spokesman Shai Bazak said Netanyahu will delay his trip to the United States by two hours today to appear before parliament and swear in Sharon, 68, as the new infrastructure minister.