France's foreign minister on Wednesday warned Arab observers trying to assess Syria's implementation of a peace agreement not to let themselves be manipulated by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

"The Arab League can take credit for taking an initiative but the Arab League observers must not let themselves be manipulated by the regime, as the regime is trying to," Alain Juppe said after talks with his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Portas.

Israelis and Palestinians were downbeat about peace prospects on Wednesday, a day after the two sides held their first face-to-face talks since September 2010 at a meeting in Amman.

"It's difficult to be optimistic because (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas continues to insist that Israel must commit to the 1967 lines and a settlement freeze, failing which he threatens tough measures," Israeli lawmaker Benny Begin told public radio.

Syria accused the United States on Wednesday of interfering in Arab League affairs, as a U.S. envoy traveled to Cairo for talks with the bloc about ending the Damascus regime's deadly crackdown on dissent.

Meanwhile, democracy activists have denounced the 22-member Arab bloc over the "unprofessionalism" of a team of peace observers whose presence in Syria has failed to stem the bloodshed.

Syria's opposition was in disarray Wednesday, struggling to present a united front in the face of a protest crackdown whose death toll rose again despite the presence of Arab League monitors.

Western powers have repeatedly called on the Syrian opposition to put aside differences and join forces in their bid to oust President Bashar Assad and his autocratic regime after more than nine months of bloody violence.

Armed Islamists on Wednesday attacked a hotel in Aden that they suspected of hosting prostitutes and set it on fire, causing the death of two who tried to escape from windows, Yemeni police said.

The gunmen opened fire on workers at the Layali Dubai (Dubai Nights) hotel, in the Sanafir neighborhood in the southern city, "before they set the hotel on fire, causing the death of two and injuring 15 guests," a police official told Agence France Presse.

Bomb and grenade attacks north of Baghdad on Wednesday killed three people -- two children and a policeman -- and wounded 17 other people, officials said.

A series of 11 apparently coordinated blasts targeting security officers rocked the restive central city of Baquba, 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, on Wednesday morning, an official in the provincial security command center and a doctor at the city's hospital said.

Iran has demanded the release of seven of its nationals who were abducted last month in restive Syria, media reported Tuesday.

"According to the last information we have, they are in good health and we are trying to obtain their release," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying.

Most of the 10,000 Filipinos working in strife-torn Syria have refused to leave despite mounting violence in the country, the Philippine foreign minister said Wednesday.

Albert del Rosario said he tried to convince more Filipinos to leave during a recent visit to Syria, but "I did not see too many people who were enthusiastic about being repatriated."

The White House on Tuesday condemned the Syrian regime's unrelenting violence against protesters, saying it was "past time" for the U.N. Security Council to take actions against Damascus.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Syria had failed to comply with standards set by Arab observers monitoring the situation, adding that "as sniper fire, torture, and murder in Syria continue, it is clear that the requirements of the Arab League protocol have not been met."

An Arab League observer mission currently in strife-ridden Syria "remains useful" even if it cannot impose an Arab peace plan in the country, the leader of the main opposition group said Tuesday.

"We believe that this mission remains useful even if it does not lead to the implementation of the Arab plan," Syrian National Council (SNC) leader Burhan Ghalioun said after talks with Portugal's foreign minister.