The Israeli government on Sunday added 20 settlements in the West Bank to a list drawn up in 2009 of Jewish communities prioritized for aid.

Hundreds of communities in the occupied Palestinian territory figure on the list for public aid in housing, infrastructure, education, cultural activities and security spending.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday noted that “Israel's demise is a national Lebanese interest,” stressing that Hizbullah will continue to “protect our country alongside the national Lebanese army" and that it will not "abandon Palestine," as he made a rare public appearance at a rally in Dahieh.

It was the first appearance in public since last September for Nasrallah, public enemy number one for Israel and a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad whose troops have been battling an insurgency since 2011. His appearance comes less than two weeks after the European Union listed Hizbullah's military wing as a "terrorist" organization.

Hizbullah has set up a large banner near the border with Israel with the phrase "we are coming" in Arabic and Hebrew, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.

"The banner was placed at the western side of al-Wazzani river mouth, near the border with Israel,” the NNA detailed.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators' stated goal of reaching a comprehensive peace deal inside nine months is realistic, the European Union's top diplomat said Wednesday, painting the bloc as a "reliable friend" to both sides.

"I firmly believe that a final end to this conflict is within reach," Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

Palestinian officials visited Israel's parliament for the first time ever on Wednesday to meet their Israeli counterparts, as the two sides moved toward peace negotiations.

The Knesset raised the Palestinian flag during a meeting among MPs, officials and businessmen from both sides, an Agence France Presse correspondent said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel will free 104 Palestinian prisoners to coincide with the resumption of long-stalled peace talks brokered by the United States.

"I agreed to free 104 Palestinians in stages, after the start of negotiations and according to progress," he wrote on his official Facebook page.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will meet in Washington on Tuesday for a round of talks after a three-year break, a Palestinian official said on Saturday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told Agence France Presse that the Palestinian delegation would be led by chief negotiator Saeb Erakat with the Israelis headed by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday arrested the brother of a high-profile former militant chief, a Palestinian security official told Agence France Presse.

He said that they snatched Daoud Zubeidi, a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades militant group, in an early-morning raid on his home in Jenin refugee camp and lightly wounded a bystander who was shot in the leg.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to have flubbed his lines on Thursday when he referred to the Palestinian territories as a country.

Speaking at the United Nations ahead of talks with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Kerry praised the "courageous decision" by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to resume direct negotiations.

Secretary of State John Kerry is finalizing his selection of a team to help shepherd Middle East peace talks on a day to day basis, a U.S. official said Monday.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki would neither confirm nor deny reports that a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, has been chosen to head up the U.S. negotiating team.