Palestinian leaders were set to decide Thursday whether to hold elections next month as scheduled or call a delay that could trigger further frustration in a divided society which last voted in 2006.

Israel said Thursday that it had re-opened the fishing zone off the blockaded Gaza Strip, after closing it earlier this week in response to rocket fire towards Israeli territory. 

Saudi Arabia is set to close eight Turkish schools at the end of the current academic year, Turkey's Anadolu state news agency reported Wednesday, a decision that could anger Ankara as it tries to improve ties with Riyadh

Worn-out fuses, tangled wiring criss-crossing illegal buildings, poor construction and generators exposed to extreme heat have become a potent recipe in Iraq for frequent deadly and destructive blazes.

Syria's lawmakers voted for their preferred presidential candidate as nominations closed Wednesday ahead of next month's polls, which are expected to return Bashar al-Assad for a fourth term.

Kurdish security forces have detained dozens of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) supporters for protesting against the latest Turkish military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan, a party official said Wednesday, adding some received "beatings."

Saudi Arabia's crown prince on Tuesday struck a conciliatory tone towards the kingdom's arch-nemesis Iran, saying he sought "good" relations, after sources said the rivals held secret talks in Baghdad.

A U.K. maritime organization is reporting an "incident" off the Saudi port of Yanbu as a private security firm is warning of a possible attack on a ship.

Details were scarce Tuesday on the incident in the Red Sea.

Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that Israel is committing the crime of "apartheid" by seeking to maintain Jewish "domination" over Palestinians and its own Arab population, an explosive allegation fiercely denounced by Israel. 

Israeli police have allowed Palestinians to gather in a flashpoint plaza outside Jerusalem's walled Old City, in a move apparently aimed at easing tensions after days of clashes.