encounter

much opposition to the sale of weaponry to a traditional ally and will probably argue that it's all part of a strategy to bolster friendly Arab governments in the face of growing strategic threats from Iran.

A day before Middle East peace talks

resume

in Egypt, a group representing Jewish settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories has threatened to

destabilise

the Israeli government. The Yesha Council said it would withdraw its support for Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition if it continued to prevent the building of new homes in the territories. Naftali Bennett is a spokesman for settlers in Ra'anana in central Israel.

"If Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government decide to

depart

and weaken this iron wall that we are building under the mountain range of Judea-Samaria, that means they no longer represent the Israeli public, and therefore it's an

illegitimate

government."

A partial moratorium on Israeli settlement building is due to expire in under two weeks. The Palestinians say they will

walk out of

new peace talks if settlement construction resumes.

The software giant Microsoft is changing the way it operates in Russia in response to reports that the Kremlin is using anti-piracy laws as a

pretext

for police raids on human rights groups and non-governmental organizations.

Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith said the firm would create a new software licence for Russian NGOs in order to prevent what he described as "nefarious actions taken