Defence Minister Ehud Barak told the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) conference on Sunday that Israel would consider taking "unilateral steps" to solve ongoing tensions with the Palestinians in the absence of a "reasonable, fair, interim agreement".

The funeral of Palestinian detainee Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat was attended by over 10,000 Palestinians today.

People in the crowd were waving flags and handing out leaflets urging a response to Jaradat’s death which, the Palestinian Authority has claimed, was a result of torture.

Terrorist organisation Hamas has held its first rally in the West Bank in five years.

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Nablus in the north of the territory on Thursday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that if Israel continues to withhold tax revenue, the Palestinian Authority may go to the International Criminal Court.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the United Nations “completely ignored Israel’s security needs” when it granted Palestine non-member status.

Mr Netanyahu made the statement during a diplomatic visit to Prague on Wednesday, in which he thanked the Czech Republic for voting against the Palestinian UN bid.

One of the reasons Israel objected so vehemently to the premature UN recognition of Palestine as a state was the apprehension that the International Criminal Court at The Hague (ICC) would, subsequently, accede to a request by the “state of Palestine” to join the Court. Once accepted as a member state, the Palestinians might then attempt to have Israeli officials indicted.