Ali Ali / EPA
Palestinian refugee children play in front of their family house in Jabaliya Refugee camp, in north Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Palestinians mark the 65th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of the Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate their displacement after the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.
--European Pressphoto Agency
Ammar Awad / Reuters
A worshipper prays in the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Dec. 21, 2012.
Jim Hollander / EPA
Pilgrims from Italy join a procession through the Church of the Nativity down into the 'Grotto,' traditionally accepted as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Dec. 21. The church is one of the oldest in the world and pilgrims, tourists and Christian faithful are flocking to the town where Jesus was born in the lead-up to the Christmas festivities.
Mohamad Torokman / Reuters
Palestinians surround a cart carrying a wooden statue of baby Jesus before a march in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Dec. 20, 2012.
Slideshow: Holiday season lights up
Abbas Momani / AFP - Getty Images
Palestinians celebrate in the West Bank city of Ramallaha on Nov. 29 after the U.N. General Assembly voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member state.
By NBC News and wire services:
The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution on Thursday giving implicit recognition to Palestinian statehood despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding funds for the West Bank government.
A resolution that lifts the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state," like the Vatican, easily passed the 193-nation General Assembly with 138 nations voting in favor, with 41 abstaining, including the United Kingdom. Nine were opposed. Full Story
Marko Djurica / Reuters
A Palestinian man shouts slogans during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Nov. 29 to support a resolution giving implicit recognition to Palestinian statehood.
Andrew Gombert / EPA
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, center, Palestinian Foreign Minister Reyad al-Maliki, right, and other members of the Palestinian delegation react after a United Nations vote on a resolution to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to non-member observer status on Nov. 29.
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Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images
Ronit Hakmon looks at her damaged home after it was hit by a rocket launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva on Nov. 20. Israel put on hold its threatened Gaza ground offensive to give Egyptian-led truce talks a chance as top diplomats flew in to boost efforts to end nearly a week of cross-border violence.
Mohammed Salem / Reuters
Palestinians carry the bodies of two boys, Suhaib and Mohammed, right, Hejazi during their funeral in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 20. The two children and their father Fuad Hejazi were killed when an Israeli air strike in the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya crushed their home on Monday, the Hamas Health Ministry said.
Uriel Sinai / Getty Images
Sapir Hachmon and her boyfriend Ron Vachnish react as they enter her room after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Nov. 20 in Beersheba, Israel. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches over 100 with three Israelis also having been killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants.
Oliver Weiken / EPA
Mourners attend the funeral of Salem Paul Sweliem in Gaza City on Nov. 20. He was reportedly killed in an air strike targeting a senior figure in Islamic Jihad's military branch, Ramez Harb, who also died in the strike. Israel pounded more than 100 targets in Gaza on the seventh day of its offensive, despite the arrival in the region of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. Israeli aircraft, ships and artillery hit targets overnight including underground rocket launchers, tunnels and houses that the military said were 'hide-outs' or 'command centres' of Hamas leaders. Palestinians also fired at least 20 rockets at Israel since midnight.
By NBC News staff and wire reports
Since Israel launched its military campaign seven days ago in response to rocket fire, more than 100 people in Gaza and three people in Israel have been killed.
Internationally, the main focus was on stopping the violence, and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi hinted at a possible breakthrough Tuesday.
Speaking at his sister's funeral in Egypt, Morsi said the "aggression on Gaza" would end Tuesday. He made the apparently off-the-cuff comments in front of mourners who had come to pay their respects, but did not elaborate. Several journalists traveling with Morsi confirmed he made the remark.
In Jerusalem Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would be a “willing partner” in a cease-fire, but also issued a warning. Continue reading.
Jim Hollander / EPA
A religious Israeli man covers his head by the roadside, but continues to use his cellphone, on a road outside Beersheba, Israel, on Nov. 20, after hearing a siren sounding a 'Red Alert,' signalling a rocket attack. Palestinian militants fired at least 40 rockets at Israel early Tuesday, leaving one person injured and damaging property, Israeli police said in a statement. A volley of around 20 Grad rockets was fired at Beersheba, the largest city in the south. The armed wing of the Hamas movement, Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Four of the rockets landed in the city, while the rest either fell outside or were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Palestinians children take cover in a U.N. operated school in Gaza City, on Nov. 20. Some Palestinians have evacuated their homes seeking shelter from Israeli airstrikes. In some areas in Gaza city, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets asking them to evacuate their homes.
Mohammed Saber / EPA
Palestinian children watch the funeral of Foaad Hejaze and his two sons Mohammed Foaad Hejaze and Suhaib Foaad Hejaze from their house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza strip on Nov. 20. Foaad Hejaze and his two sons were killed by an Israeli air strike which also left his wife injured.
Ashraf Amra / AP
Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a fire in the National Islamic Bank, which was destroyed overnight in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City on Nov. 20. Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft targeted another Hamas symbol of power, battering the headquarters of the bank senior Hamas officials set up to sidestep international sanctions on the militant group's rule.
Danny Sasson / AFP - Getty Images
An Israeli soldier evacuates a young girl from a site hit by a rocket launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva on Nov. 20. Israeli leaders discussed an Egyptian plan for a truce with Gaza's ruling Hamas, reports said, before a mission by the UN chief to Jerusalem and as the toll from Israeli raids on Gaza rose over 100.
Hatem Moussa / AP
Palestinian children stand in the rubble left after an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City, on Nov. 20.
Related content:
Two sides exchange deadly airstrikes, rocket attacks.
Nir Elias / Reuters
A Hasidic Jewish man, from the Breslov sect, holds an Israeli flag as he dances with Israeli troops during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip on Nov. 19. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.
Hasidic Jews, from the Breslov sect, danced with Israeli troops during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip on Nov. 19. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.
-- Reuters
Nir Elias / Reuters
Israeli troops cheer as a Hasidic Jewish man, from the Breslov sect, dances during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip on Nov. 19.
Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
Hasidic Jewish men, from the Breslov sect, ride on a van with Israeli flags during a visit to support the soldiers, near the border with the Gaza Strip, visible in the background, on Nov. 19.
Related content:
Two sides exchange deadly airstrikes, rocket attacks.
Oliver Weiken / EPA
A young Palestinian boy carries a bag with scavenged plastic on a dump site outside Gaza City on Nov. 8, 2012. The site is just a few hundred meters away from the Israeli border and the workers have to be careful not to come too close or they fear they could come under Israeli fire. With a day's work the scavengers earn the equivalent of approximately 1 Euro or about $1.27.
Alaa Badarneh / EPA
Palestinian farmers harvest olive trees on the outskirts of the West Bank village of Salem, near the Jewish settlement of Elone Moreh, after passing through a security gate near Nablus on October 12, 2012.
Israeli soldiers open the gate from 7 am to 5 pm during the olive harvest to reduce the possibility of friction between Palestinians and Jewish settlers in the area.
Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images
Palestinians wait in a queue to fill containers with fuel at a petrol station in Gaza City on April 2, 2012. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) began transferring emergency supplies of fuel to the Gaza Strip where an electricity crisis has hit medical services hard.
Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images
Palestinians wait in a queue to fill containers with fuel at a petrol station in Gaza City on April 2, 2012.
Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images
A Palestinian boy waits along with other residents wait in a queue to fill containers with fuel at a petrol station in Gaza City on April 2, 2012.
AP reports: At the root of the two-month-old crisis is a standoff between Hamas and neighboring Egypt over the delivery and payment for fuel.
Fuel smuggled from Egypt through tunnels under the border used to be the main source of energy for Gaza, including the territory's only power station that provides 60 percent of the electricity.
Hamas now wants Egypt to deliver fuel to Gaza through a passage above ground, trying to establish a precedent Hamas hopes could evolve into a full-fledged trade route with Egypt.
It's hard to understand why folks would want to participate in a mass wedding, but they seem to be happy.
Wael Hamzeh / EPA
Bridal couples arrive for a mass wedding ceremony organized by the Lebanese-Palestinian Committee for Development, in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, Sept 29. Fifty Palestinian couples and their families and relatives took part in the ceremony held under the auspices of Lebanese MP Bahia Hariri, sister of late Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Wael Hamzeh / EPA
Bridal couples dance during a mass wedding ceremony organized by the Lebanese-Palestinian Committee for Development, in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, Sept.29.
Wael Hamzeh / EPA
Bridal couples arrive for a mass wedding ceremony organized by the Lebanese-Palestinian Committee for Development, in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, Sept. 29.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah cheer moments before their President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations on Sept. 23, 2011.
Msnbc.com wire services report:
To a round of applause, Abbas held up a copy of the formal membership application and said he had asked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to expedite deliberation of his request to have the United Nations recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
His appeal to the council reflects a loss of faith after 20 years of failed peace talks sponsored by the United States, Israel's main ally, and alarm at relentless Israeli settlement expansion eating into the land Palestinians want for a state.
It also exposed Washington's dwindling influence in a region shaken by Arab uprisings and shifting alliances that have pushed Israel deeper into isolation. Read more…
Justin Lane / EPA
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gestures to the crowd as he is applauded after addressing the general debate of the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York.
Related PhotoBlog posts:
As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pushes for statehood, the United States is hoping to avoid a dramatic showdown. Meanwhile, tensions have escalated in the West Bank. NBC's Ron Allen reports.
Marco Longari / AFP - Getty Images
Masked Palestinian youths are seen enveloped by dust from a passing lorry on Tuesday during clashes with Israeli forces in the Arab village of Issawiya in east Jerusalem.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Israeli police officers take position during scuffles with Palestinian youths.
Baz Ratner / Reuters
A Palestinian laborer works on a construction site in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim on Tuesday. Israel is pushing ahead with plans to build 1,300 new apartments for Jewish families in Arab East Jerusalem, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, despite fierce opposition from Palestinians.
Read more about the Israeli plan to build more settlements, and the Palestinian Authority's reaction, here. President Obama also discussed the plan in Indonesia today.
msnbc.com story: Israel defends construction in east Jerusalem
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