Bahrain's opposition said Wednesday it will boycott the national dialogue for two weeks after a crackdown by authorities that has seen "hundreds of citizens" arrested and home of a prominent Shiite cleric raided.

The opposition entered into a dialogue with the government in February which aims at resolving the political deadlock in the Shiite-majority kingdom, but the talks have been dogged by disagreement between the two sides.

Israel's ability to deter attack on its positions in the occupied Golan Heights remains undiminished despite an uptick in fire from the Syrian side of the ceasefire line, a defense official said on Wednesday.

"The good news is that the continued stability of the Golan Heights (and) the deterrent power of the Israeli army have not been weakened," senior defense adviser Amos Gilad told army radio.

Libyan army special forces have arrested an armed group in the eastern city of Benghazi in possession of hundreds of anti-tank mines and material for making explosives, the LANA news agency reported on Wednesday.

A security source was quoted as saying "220 anti-tank mines as well as equipment for manufacturing explosives were seized" and that one of the soldiers was wounded in clashes during the raid.

Israel arrested three Palestinian police officers on Wednesday after they returned to duty having served jail terms in Palestinian prisons for shooting dead a Jewish settler, a Palestinian official said.

"Israel arrested three elements of the national security who had been detained by the Palestinian Authority in Al-Jneid prison in Nablus for their unintentional killing of a settler two years ago," the Palestinian official told Agence France Presse.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday to commit to peace, but said support for the opposition will continue if he rejects talks.

"We would call on President Assad to make the same commitment to find peace in his country," Kerry told a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh ahead of a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Amman.

The conflict in Syria has displaced more than two-thirds of Palestinian refugees living in the country, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees said on Wednesday.

"We have registered approximately 530,000 Palestinian refugees. We believe that almost all of them, certainly maybe 70-80 percent, are displaced from their normal homes," UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi told Agence France Presse on a visit to Syria.

Hospitalized Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is recovering well in Paris and will return home soon, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said on Wednesday.

"The president is in good health; he will return soon to Algeria. For the moment he is still in France for a few days of recovery," Medelci told Radio France Internationale (RFI).

Turkish police have arrested six people for planning attacks against Syrian refugees who have sought shelter in border camps, a local governor said on Wednesday.

The suspects -- all of them Turkish nationals -- allegedly plotted "kidnappings and bombing attacks at refugee shelters" in southeastern Hatay province, its governor Celalettin Lekesiz said in televised remarks.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi appealed Wednesday to the opposition for unity, in the face of criticism he is failing the revolution that brought him to power almost a year ago.

"To all those who love Egypt, to the opposition, those who love this country and care for its interests, let's proceed together... help each other, love each other more... and move forward," said Morsi.

Iran denied on Wednesday claims by Saudi Arabia that alleged spies it arrested were linked to the Islamic republic, and criticized the kingdom for publicizing such allegations.

Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said the reports were "false," maintaining Iran's position of completely rejecting the accusations.