Syrian President Bashar Assad is determined to crush the rebellion against his regime, even at the cost of triggering a civil war in the country, bolstered by support from Moscow, analysts say.

"He has been ready to fight to the end right from the start and as long as he has Russia's support he believes he will win," Middle East expert Agnes Levallois told Agence France Presse.

A Turkish court is to hold on November 6 the first hearing of a trial against four Israeli commanders held responsible for a deadly flotilla raid in 2010, Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

The date was announced by the Istanbul court two weeks after it unanimously approved an indictment by Turkish prosecutors, who want life sentences for the Israelis for their alleged role in the deadly maritime assault, the agency said.

Hundreds of young settlers began marching from a West Bank outpost to Jerusalem on Monday to protest against plans to raze five homes built on private Palestinian land.

Around 400 flag-waving demonstrators joined the march, which began at the so-called Ulpana neighborhood on the edge of the Beit El settlement, and was to end in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, with a mass rally outside parliament planned for Wednesday, organizers said.

A militia of Libyan ex-rebels entered Tripoli International airport with tanks and armored vehicles and completely blocked air traffic on Monday, a day after their leader was arrested, officials said.

"It is total confusion. Everyone is fleeing. Several armored vehicles and tanks are positioned on the tarmac, blocking traffic," an official at the airport told Agence France Presse.

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor on Monday accused prominent activist Waleed Abu Alkhair of "disrespecting" the judiciary and contacting foreign organizations, his wife told Agence France Presse by telephone.

Alkhair was summoned by the prosecutor in the Red Sea city of Jeddah who accused him of "disrespecting the judiciary system... contacting foreign organizations and signing a petition demanding the release of detainees," some of whom are being held over terror links, Samar Badawi said.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi is to head to New York later this week for talks on Syria with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, a League official said on Monday.

"Arabi's four-day visit, starting on Thursday, will focus on the Syrian crisis and on efforts to convince the U.N. Security Council of the need for an urgent solution," the official added.

A powerful Shiite cleric and Iraq's main secular bloc have made new calls to unseat Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as a long-running political crisis appeared set to drag on.

"We say, complete your (good work) and announce your resignation, for the sake of the people... and for the sake of partners," Moqtada al-Sadr said in a statement released late on Sunday.

Clashes erupted between regime forces and rebels in Syria's Idlib province overnight, killing two opposition fighters, as two others died in the Damascus region on Monday, a watchdog said.

Russia and the European Union must overcome their differences on the crisis in Syria to prevent a full-scale civil war, the EU president said Monday after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Herman Van Rompuy, who is in Russia with EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso to meet with Putin, admitted after the talks that the EU and Russia "might have some divergent assessments" over the situation in Syria.

A lower court in Kuwait sentenced a Shiite tweeter to 10 years in jail on Monday on charges of insulting Islam's Prophet Mohammed, his wife Aisha and companions, his lawyer Khaled al-Shatti said.

"We plan to challenge the ruling against my client Hamad al-Naqi in the appeals court and we are very optimistic that the higher court will cancel the sentence," Shatti told AFP.