Amman - Arab stock markets plummeted across the board this week in response to losses incurred by the world's major bourses, the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip and falling oil prices, financial analysts said Friday.

They expected regional markets to suffer further in the coming weeks, amid expectations that upcoming releases of 2008 corporate figures might turn out worse that expected.

Kuwait City, Doha - The head of militant Palestinian organization Hamas' political bureau in Damascus, Khaled Meshaal, has said that the group will not accept any preconditions to a ceasefire by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Meshaal was speaking on Friday before a meeting of Arab leaders in Qatar, adding that the Palestinian movement in Gaza "had not suffered a defeat," and that they would therefore not accept any preconditions of the opponent.

Gaza City - Israeli grounds t

Ramallah- Some 3,000 Palestinians marched in the West Bank city of Ramallah Friday to protest Israel's offensive in Gaza, waving Palestinian flags, chanting "the blood of the martyrs will not go to waste," and holding up signs calling for West Bank-Gaza unity.

Women holding up copies of the Koran chanted slogans in support of Hamas, as Palestinian police in uniform walked behind but did not try to stop them.

Brussels - The European Commission expressed "shock and dismay" Thursday at the shelling by Israel of a United Nations compound in the Gaza Strip and called for an independent probe into the incident.

"It is unacceptable that the UN headquarters in Gaza have been struck by Israeli artillery fire," said the EU's commissioner for humanitarian aid, Louis Michel.

"This is a very serious incident and there must be a full and independent investigation," he said in a statement.

Gaza City - Israel upped its pressure on Palestinian militants Thursday, with ground troops advancing close to the centre of Gaza City in one of the worst days of fighting since the assault began and amid growing signs that the offensive could be in its final days.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference in Tel Aviv that the elements were there for a ceasefire to be in place "reasonably soon," but added that how soon depended on the "political will of the Israeli government."