A prosecutor in Hosni Mubarak's trial on Thursday demanded the death sentence for him and his former security chief, saying the fallen Egyptian president had ordered the killings of anti-regime demonstrators.

"The law foresees the death penalty for premeditated murder," prosecutor Mustafa Khater told the court during the trial of the former president, who was toppled in a popular uprising in February.

The head of the Free Syrian Army demanded Thursday that the Arab League pull its observer mission out of the country over its failure to halt almost 10 months of bloodshed.

Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad issued the call in an interview with AFP after the Arab League turned to the United Nations for help and admitted "mistakes" in the monitoring mission launched less than two weeks ago.

Iraq and Iran are aiding the Syrian regime financially in its crackdown on protests, a former official in President Bashar Assad's regime alleged Thursday in a report on al-Jazeera's website.

Mahmoud Suleiman Haj Hamad made the allegations at a press conference in Cairo after announcing his defection from the regime, according to the satellite network's Arabic-language website.

The Israeli military has banned 12 Jewish extremists from the West Bank for three to nine months because they are suspected in violence against Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.

The military had no comment when asked why the radicals were not arrested. The extremists were not identified in the military's statement Thursday.

Syria on Thursday released 552 people who were detained over their involvement in political unrest and who have "no blood on their hands," the official SANA news agency reported.

The news agency said that "552 prisoners involved in the latest events in Syria and who have no blood on their hands were released."

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was on Thursday indicted alongside a number of other people for allegedly taking bribes in a massive property scandal, judicial sources said.

The allegations stem from Olmert's tenure as Jerusalem mayor and will add to the woes of the former premier, who is already on trial on three unrelated counts of fraud and bribery.

A spate of attacks against Shiite pilgrims and neighborhoods in Iraq killed at least 53 people on Thursday as the country grapples with a weeks-long political row that has stoked sectarian tensions.

The violence, which wounded more than 100, was the worst since attacks killed 60 people across Baghdad on December 22, soon after the crisis erupted when Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was charged with running a hit squad, and following the U.S. troop pullout.

France on Thursday urged the Arab League to strengthen its monitoring mission in Syria amid concerns its observers have failed to stem bloodletting in the country.

The French foreign ministry's deputy spokesman, Romain Nadal, also called on the Arab grouping to accept help in organizing the mission, in particular from the United Nations.

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.