* Says he will 'think anew' on security unless Israel stops

By Ali Sawafta

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan 1 (Reuters) - The Palestinians may review their West Bank security ties with Israel if it continues unilateral operations such as a Dec. 26 raid which killed three militants, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday.

After losing control of the Gaza Strip to rival Hamas Islamists in 2007, the U.S.-backed Abbas reordered his West Bank forces in coordination with Israel, whose settlements and other occupied

One year since Israel's 22-day assault on Gaza, the coastal strip is still struggling to survive under a crippling blockade. Karl Schembri writes about the hardships the 1.5 million people of Gaza are still being forced to endure in this cruel and protracted man-made crisis.

A stone's throw away from the Israeli border in Shajaiya, a group of young men are rummaging among the steel and concrete that remains of the Sarayo Biscuits Factory.

JERUSALEM, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed an Egyptian-hosted summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a possible way to resume stalled peace talks, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

The offer was the latest sign that progress was being made towards renewing U.S.-backed negotiations frozen for a year.

Palestinian and Egyptian officials had no immediate comment on the plan, which two Israeli officials said Netanyahu raised on Tuesday at talks in Cairo with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak.

6.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs)(1) and eight million refugees(2) hosted by countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia (MENACA) region. Population were uprooted as a result of political instability and violence. Although some returns have been recorded over the past year, these were either limited or unsustainable, owing to the still fragile security context in the areas of origin. According to UNHCR Iraq October 2009 Monthly Statistical Update, some 180,000 Iraqis have returned home from either internal displacement or refuge abroad during

Humanitarian requirements in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia (MENACA) region in 2009 were funded at 67.7 percent, with US$122 million in the pipeline. The Syria Drought Response Plan 2009 is by far the least funded among the MENACA appeals with only 13.9 percent of the requirements met.

During 2009, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) provided $36.7 million to countries in the MENACA region out of more than $397 million allocated worldwide.

Pledges and contributions to CERF for 2010 has reached $424 million.

International prices of food commodities have increased rapidly over the last three years due to several reasons including the decrease in the world cereal production, increase in fuel prices, and decrease in stock levels of staple foods, increase of demand related to economic growth and increase of the world population. The rise in food prices has exacerbated the poor livelihood conditions of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which are caused by a systemic closure and movement restrictions. The combined effects of the increase

Return

Shelter: Rehabilitation and reconstruction of 10,338 units for IDPs and refugee returnees with particular focus in the Central region where higher number of returns occur.

Community-based projects (related to shelter): WatSan projects linked to shelter depending on ongoing needs assessments in areas of return.

Protection: a) Establishment of 16 Return, Integration and Community Centers (RICCs), six in Baghdad and additional ten centers in Salah Al-Din, Diyala, Anbar, Kerbala, Basra, Mosul and Kirkuk.

b) Systematic border monitoring in Trebil

One of the most important legal challenges today is the battle to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) accountable for their involvement in human rights violations. Efforts are currently being made by a variety of actors in what is referred to as the corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement. At the national level, governments are increasingly including social considerations in their regulation of corporations and lawyers are using civil litigation to seek redress for victims of corporate-related human rights abuses. At the international

The humanitarian situation and living conditions in the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPT) have remained of great concern during 2009. This is due to the ongoing Israeli illegal policies and measures that are in gross violation to both humanitarian and human rights laws. These violations have also been documented in reports by various international organizations, most notably the report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict known as the 'Goldstone Report'.

The legal status of the Palestinians