Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent much of his long career casting Israel's Arab minority as a potential fifth column led by terrorist sympathizers, is now openly courting their support as he seeks reelection in the country's fourth vote in less than two years.

Few Arabs are likely to heed his call, underscoring the desperation of Netanyahu's political somersault. But the relative absence of incitement against the community in this campaign and the potential breakup of an Arab party alliance could dampen turnout — to Netanyahu's advantage. He might even pick up just enough votes to swing a tight election.

Israel has issued tenders for 2,500 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, a watchdog said Wednesday, on the eve of Joe Biden's swearing-in as US president.

Libyan officials from rival administrations on Tuesday began talks in an Egyptian Red Sea resort about constitutional arrangements for presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, the United Nations said.

According to the U.N. acting envoy for Libya, Stephanie Williams, failure to find an arrangement will have "negative repercussions on the other tracks, including the security and economic situation."

US President Donald Trump bestowed a rare award on King Hamad of Bahrain on Tuesday, acknowledging the Gulf state's normalisation of ties with Israel on his last full day in office.

Qatar has called for Gulf Arab countries to hold talks with Iran, the foreign minister said in an interview aired Tuesday, after Doha reconciled with its neighbours following a rift.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Israel to "halt and reverse" its decision last week to build 800 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli drivers participated in the latest Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, a country with which the Jewish state has no formal diplomatic ties but hopes to normalize relations, their manager said Monday.

The first direct flights since 2017 between Qatar and its former rivals Egypt and the UAE took to the skies on Monday, following the end of a regional crisis.

More than 600 people have been arrested and troops have been deployed after a third consecutive night of riots in several Tunisian cities, officials said Monday.

Some 150 Yemeni pro-government soldiers and Huthi rebels have been killed in a week of fighting south of the strategic port city of Hodeida, military sources said Monday.