Palestinian children hold placards during a protest against the sanctions imposed by Israel, in Beit Hanoun near Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. The U.N.'s top human rights official has called on Israel to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Islamic group Hamas violently seized control of the territory in June 2006. Israel tightened the sanctions because of rocket fire at Israeli towns. Signs read the same in Arabic and English. AP Photo logo AP Photo 12 months ago

Palestinian children hold placards during a protest against the sanctions imposed by Israel, in Beit Hanoun near Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. The U.N.'s top human rights official has called on Israel to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Islamic group Hamas violently seized control of the territory in June 2006. Israel tightened the sanctions because of rocket fire at Israeli towns. Signs read the same in Arabic and English.

More Photos of

Explore Photos of Related Topics

  1. Afghan opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah (R) shakes hands with United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon (C) as United Nation's special envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide (L, background) looks on prior to a meeting in Kabul on November 2, 2009. UN chief Ban Ki-moon flew into Kabul on November 2 to meet President Hamid Karzai over the Afghan election crisis with organisers to announce whether or not to scrap the poll after the only challenger pulled out. The surprise visit from Ban accompanied a diplomatic push to ensure the November 7 one-horse race does not take place, despite the initial insistence from some officials that it is too late to halt the process.
  2. Palestinian and UN vehicles take a flooded street following heavy rains in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on October 29, 2009. Hamas said it will ban the organisation of elections in its Gaza Strip stronghold after president Mahmud Abbas called for a vote in the Palestinian territories.
  3. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (C) meets with French senatorial delegation members, Senator of Val-d'Oise Robert Hue (2ndL), Senator of Morbihan Josselin de Rohan (2ndR), Senator of Meurthe-et-Moselle Daniel Renier (R) and Secretary General of the French Delegates for the 64th Session of the General Assembly Philippe Thiebaud (L), at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009.
  4. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2ndL) meets with French senatorial delegation members, Senator of Val-d'Oise Robert Hue (L), Senator of Morbihan Josselin de Rohan (2ndR) and Senator of Meurthe-et-Moselle Daniel Renier, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009.
  5. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009. Ban Ki-Moon condemned the 'despicable and brutal' attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul, which left five UN staff dead, but said the UN remained committed to Afghanistan.
  6. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009. Ban Ki-Moon condemned the 'despicable and brutal' attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul, which left five UN staff dead, but said the UN remained committed to Afghanistan.
  7. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009. Ban Ki-Moon condemned the 'despicable and brutal' attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul, which left five UN staff dead, but said the UN remained committed to Afghanistan.
  8. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009. Ban Ki-Moon condemned the 'despicable and brutal' attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul, which left five UN staff dead, but said the UN remained committed to Afghanistan.
  9. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of the Hamas-run government in Gaza, speaks at the parliament in Gaza city on October 5, 2009 against the Palestinian Authority's support for delaying the endorsement of a UN report on possible war crimes committed during Israel's Gaza offensive. Haniya accused Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas of the 'absurd and criminal' decision to delay endorsement of the report, a move he said endangered Egyptian-brokered national unity talks.
  10. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of the Hamas-run government in Gaza, speaks at the parliament in Gaza city on October 5, 2009 against the Palestinian Authority's support for delaying the endorsement of a UN report on possible war crimes committed during Israel's Gaza offensive. Haniya accused Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas of the 'absurd and criminal' decision to delay endorsement of the report, a move he said endangered Egyptian-brokered national unity talks.
  11. A Hamas movement supporter holds a poster showing Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, with Hamas protesters superimposed in the background, during a demonstration in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon on October 4, 2009 against a UN decision to delay a vote on a report accusing Israel of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority is under fire for giving in to what critics said was US and Israeli pressure to defer a vote by the UN Human Rights Council on the report by the former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone.
  12. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya (R) gives a speech on October 4, 2009 during a reception at his office in Gaza City for Roudah Habib (L), the final Palestinian woman prisoner set free by Israel as part of a breakthrough swap with the Hamas movement for a video of its soldier held in Gaza for more than three years. Habib was released into Gaza via the Erez crossing, where she was greeted by relatives and friends before being escorted to Haniya's office, Habib's sister told.
  13. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya offers flowers to Roudah Habib (C), the final Palestinian woman prisoner set free by Israel as part of a breakthrough swap with the Hamas movement for a video of its soldier held in Gaza for more than three years, as he welcomes her at his office in Gaza city following her release on October 4, 2009. Habib was released into Gaza via the Erez crossing, where she was greeted by relatives and friends before being escorted to Haniya's office, Habib's sister told.
  14. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya waves to the crowd near house in Gaza City of the the final Palestinian woman prisoner released by Israel on October 4, 2009 as part of a breakthrough swap with the Hamas movement for a video of its soldier held in Gaza for more than three years. Roudah Habib was released into Gaza via the Erez crossing, where she was greeted by relatives and friends before being escorted to Haniya's office, Habib's sister told.
  15. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya waves to the crowd near house in Gaza City of the the final Palestinian woman prisoner released by Israel on October 4, 2009 as part of a breakthrough swap with the Hamas movement for a video of its soldier held in Gaza for more than three years. Roudah Habib was released into Gaza via the Erez crossing, where she was greeted by relatives and friends before being escorted to Haniya's office, Habib's sister told.
  16. Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (3rd R) waves after his visit to the house of newly released Palestinian prisoner Rawda Saed (not pictured) in Gaza City October 4, 2009. Israel freed the Palestinian woman prisoner to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the last of 20 it has swapped for a videotape that provided the first visible evidence that a soldier captured in 2006 was still alive.

Recent Photos From The Wire

  1. Iraq's vice president Tariq al-Hashemi speaks during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Al-Hashemi said there could be more talks about resolving the impasse over parliament elections, but that he stands by his demand to give minority Sunnis a greater voice in the balloting.
  2. A child eats biscuits during a protest by activists and victims of the Bhopal gas leak to mark the 25th anniversary of the disaster, in Bhopal, India, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Hundreds of people marched through Bhopal with torches before dawn Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster and demand the cleanup of toxic chemicals they say still contaminate the Indian city's soil and water.
  3. A soldier from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh waits for a chinook helicopter to land during a training exercise at Dale Barracks in Chester, ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan, northern England December 3, 2009.
  4. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) addresses the media during his monthly news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, December 3, 2009.
  5. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) addresses the media during his monthly news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, December 3, 2009.
  6. American university student Amanda Knox's mother Edda leaves the courtroom at the end of the morning session of a murder trial session in Perugia December 3, 2009. Defendants Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are on trial for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
  7. A woman gestures during a protest to mark the 25th anniversary of the disaster in Bhopal, India, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Hundreds of people marched through Bhopal with torches before dawn Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster and demand the cleanup of toxic chemicals they say still contaminate the Indian city's soil and water.
  8. Iraq's vice president Tariq al-Hashemi speaks during a Press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. al-Hashemi said there could be more talks about resolving the impasse over parliament elections, but that he stands by his demand to give minority Sunnis a greater voice in the balloting.
  9. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank ECB, is seen during a press conference in Frankfurt, central Germany, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 announcing that the ECB leaves its main interest rate unchanged.
  10. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank ECB, is seen during a press conference in Frankfurt, central Germany, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 announcing that the ECB will leave its main interest rate unchanged.
  11. ROME - DECEMBER 03: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leave after attending a joint press conference at Villa Madama on December 3, 2009 in Rome, Italy. During his visit to Rome, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and delegates attended a meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and delegates for the sixth round of discussions on economic cooperation between the two nations.
  12. ROME - DECEMBER 03: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leave after attending a joint press conference at Villa Madama on December 3, 2009 in Rome, Italy. During his visit to Rome, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and delegates attended a meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and delegates for the sixth round of discussions on economic cooperation between the two nations.
  13. ROME - DECEMBER 03: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) listens while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi speaks during a joint press conference at Villa Madama on December 3, 2009 in Rome, Italy. During his visit to Rome, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and delegates attended a meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and delegates for the sixth round of discussions on economic cooperation between the two nations.
  14. ROME - DECEMBER 03: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attend a joint press conference at Villa Madama on December 3, 2009 in Rome, Italy. During his visit to Rome, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and delegates attended a meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and delegates for the sixth round of discussions on economic cooperation between the two nations.
  15. GIRONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 03: Fredrik Ohlsson of Sweden plays from a greenside bunker on the 18th during the final round of the European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage at the PGA Golf de Catalunya golf resort on December 3, 2009 in Girona, Spain.
  16. GIRONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 03: Marco Ruiz of Paraguay chips onto the 18th green during the final round of the European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage at the PGA Golf de Catalunya golf resort on December 3, 2009 in Girona, Spain.