The U.S. is negotiating with Egypt a proposal to make the Middle East a region free of nuclear weapons, as the U.S. seeks to prevent Iran from derailing a monthlong U.N. conference on nuclear nonproliferation that begins Monday.

The Israelis and Palestinians have taken a small, halting step toward peace talks, a modest payoff for President Barack Obama's dogged, behind-the-scenes diplomacy. Word emerged Monday that the Israeli government had effectively frozen new Jewish construction in Jerusalem's disputed eastern sector.

There are times one could be forgiven for thinking that solving the Palestinian problem would take care of every global challenge from climate change to the flu. But would it? The short answer is no. It matters, but both less and in a different way than people tend to think.

Across all 28 countries, to no one’s surprise, the country with the least positive reputation was Iran. It was closely followed in unpopularity by Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. Just 19 per cent of respondents in the 28 countries held a positive view of Israel, compared to 50 per cent with a negative one.

How do you know when there's a real crisis in U.S.-Israel relations? It’s when the president of the United States convenes a nuclear security summit to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the Israeli prime minister declines the invitation.

Israel's defense minister expressed concern Monday about deteriorating relations with the United States and warned that "the growing alienation" with President Obama's administration "is not a good thing for the state of Israel."

We need to do something to deprive both sides of any excuse not to engage in serious negotiations," Mr. Clinton said in an interview aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "If this is the tactic he decides to adopt, I will strongly support it.

Israeli diplomats in San Francisco are promoting Israel’s thriving gay arts and culture scene as a new mode of hasbara (public diplomacy) in the Bay Area. “Out in Israel,” a monthlong festival of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) culture in Israel, is a showcase for films, art and literature during the month of April.