Israel will announce plans for new settlement construction next week, coinciding with the release of a third batch of Palestinian prisoners as part of peace talks, an official said Thursday.

Palestinians have warned repeatedly that settlement building destroys the fragile U.S.-brokered peace talks that resumed in July after a three-year hiatus.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood faces its toughest trial in decades after being declared a "terrorist" group following a spectacular fall from power, with its leaders imprisoned or on the run.

The 85-year-old Islamist movement, which was the most well-organized opposition group during decades of authoritarianism despite being banned, stepped out of the shadows after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-rule.

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan expressed hope on Wednesday that last-ditch mediation can end a crisis sparked by the months-long blockade of eastern oil terminals by striking security guards.

"Delegations whose tribes have their own initiatives have decided to engage in mediation to find a solution to the crisis," Zeidan told reporters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed disappointment Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has failed to condemn fresh attacks on Israelis, as a watchdog questioned the legality of Israeli reprisals.

An Israeli man was shot dead Tuesday while working on the border fence with the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli military retaliated with a wave of strikes that killed a toddler and wounded six other Palestinians.

The Syrian government and rebels in a besieged town near Damascus have reached a landmark truce agreement to allow aid access to trapped civilians, an activist told Agence France Presse on Wednesday.

Under the truce in Moadamiyet al-Sham, the official flag was raised over the area on Wednesday and will be flown for 72 hours, in exchange for much-needed food supplies for thousands of trapped civilians, said Abu Malek of the town's opposition Local Council.

Egypt's military-backed rulers declared the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted president Mohammed Morsi a "terrorist" organization Wednesday, blaming it for a deadly police headquarters bombing already claimed by an al-Qaida-inspired group.

The decision is likely to accelerate a crackdown on the movement that has killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Islamists, in street clashes and seen thousands imprisoned since Morsi's overthrow by the military in July.

The six energy-rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf are seeking to strengthen ties with China, Gulf Cooperation Council chief Abdullatif al-Zayani said Wednesday after talks with the Chinese foreign minister.

Zayani held talks in Saudi Arabia with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and expressed "GCC interest in bolstering friendship and cooperation ties with China," a GCC statement said.

The Egyptian army said Wednesday it had foiled a plan by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to attack a strategic security building in North Sinai, where militants have increased activity in recent months.

A member of the movement revealed the plan when the army interrogated him, military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said in a statement.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees on Wednesday condemned the Israeli demolition of Palestinian structures in the occupied West Bank and called on Israel to "immediately halt" them.

"UNRWA condemns the latest demolitions in the West Bank, which displaced 68 people, the most recent of which occurred on Christmas Eve," spokesman Chris Gunness said.

An al-Qaida-inspired group based in Egypt's Sinai Wednesday claimed a suicide car bombing of a police headquarters north of Cairo that killed 15 people, the deadliest such attack since Mohammed Morsi's overthrow.

The brazen assault underscored the military's challenge to contain Sinai militants who have killed more than 100 soldiers and policemen in a wave of attacks since the army ousted Islamist president Morsi on July 3.