11-8-14

* Islamic State leader reportedly wounded in US-led air strikes in Iraq US-led air strikes have targeted a gathering of Islamic State leaders in Iraq in a town near the Syrian border, possibly including the group's top commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

* Jordanians denounce peace with Israel, vow 'jihad to liberate Al-Aksa' Several thousand protesters took to the streets of Jordanian cities on Friday, calling on the government to scrap its peace deal with Israel following escalating violence at the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem.

* Netanyahu Assures EU: No Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with the European Union's new foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini in Jerusalem on Monday, where he made a partial push for Jewish religious rights that fell short of prayer at the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.

* Mohammed's Successor Advances on Jerusalem The Islamic State (ISIS) has announced that the Sinai Peninsula is now a caliphate, an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a caliph - i.e. "successor" - to Mohammed.

* Hamas: 'Popular army' formed for 'liberation of al-Aksa' Hamas has declared the formation of a "popular army" at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, according to a report by the AFP.

* Report: European states threaten to recognize Palestinian statehood Additional European nations have reportedly threatened to follow suit of Sweden and unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood if peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are not relaunched.

* Islamic State crisis: US to send 1,500 more troops to Iraq The US is to send 1,500 more non-combat troops to Iraq to boost Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State (IS) militants, nearly doubling the US presence.

* Ya'alon: Israeli politicians' visits to Temple Mount provoked Jerusalem terror attacks The rioting by Palestinians in east Jerusalem is a response to Israeli ministers and lawmakers who made "provocativeâ" visits to the Temple Mount, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon told Channel 10 on Saturday.

* Ex-USSR leader Gorbachev: World on brink of new Cold War The world is on the brink of a new Cold War, and trust should be restored by dialogue with Russia, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said.

* 'We need a Palestinian state,' new EU foreign affairs chief says in Gaza The European Union's new foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday called for the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying the world "cannot afford" another war in Gaza.