US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Israel to broker negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Mr Kerry is expected to take part in the Yom Hashoah ceremony at Yad Vashem this morning followed by a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in the afternoon.

Israel President Shimon Peres has welcomed his American counterpart to Jerusalem on the first day of Barack Obama's trip to Israel.

The two heads of state planted a magnolia tree in the gardens of the presidential residence.

Schoolchildren sang Tomorrow from the musical Annie in Hebrew, Arabic and English.

It came down to the wire but at the last moment, a coalition has almost certainly been formed in Israel, five weeks after Benjamin Netanyahu was first called to President Shimon Peres and nearly two months after the elections.

Peres tells new Pope: ‘come to Israel’

Israeli President Shimon Peres has invited the new pope, Pope Francis, to the Holy Land.

Iran will promise the United Nations that it will not seek to create nuclear weapons, an Iranian news agency has claimed.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Prince of Belgium have bestowed decorations of Righteous Among the Nations on 11 Belgian families who saved Jews during the Holocaust.

Although The most high-profile event this week was the swearing-in of the newly elected Knesset on Tuesday, with a record 48 new MKs, the real action was behind the scenes.

After President Shimon Peres had officially tasked Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a government, coalition talks began in earnest.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said Israel could negotiate with Hamas if the terrorist group renounced violence and recognised Israel.

During an address at a Christian conference today, President Peres said: "People ask about Hamas, why aren't we talking with Hamas?

“There is nothing wrong with that as long as we get an answer from them.