Egypt's influential Muslim Brotherhood demanded Thursday that France act against cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed in the same way as against the topless pictures of Prince William's wife Catherine.

Its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), called for "firm and rapid measures against the (French) magazine" Charlie Hebdo which printed cartoons mocking the prophet on Wednesday.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has distributed $3.7 billion in aid to countries touched by the Arab Spring, most of it to Egypt and Jordan, a report by the International Monetary Fund showed Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's wealthiest country, has pledged nearly $17.9 billion in support for fellow Arabs since the pro-democracy revolt erupted in Tunisia in January 2010 and spread throughout the region, toppling and shaking authoritarian governments.

Egypt and Jordan could annul their peace treaties with Israel if it carries out a preemptive strike against Iran, U.S. officials have warned the Jewish state, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

Quoting a high-level Israeli official, Yediot Aharonot said Washington had warned the Jewish state that Arab leaders would not be able to control an angry public backlash if Israel were to mount an attack on Iran.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday issued a decree naming Mohammed Raafat Shehata the country's new head of intelligence, after the former spy chief was forced into retirement.

Shehata had been acting director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate since August 8 when his predecessor Murad Muwafi resigned, the official MENA news agency reported.

French schools and cultural centers in Egypt will close on Thursday as a precautionary measure after the publication in France of cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed, the consulate said.

"Although there has been no specific threat in Egypt, it has been decided as a precaution and as in other countries, to close French schools and cultural centers in Egypt on Thursday September 20," it said in a statement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has formally protested a decision by Egypt's prime minister to receive Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday,.

"The Palestinian leadership and president Abbas are conducting contacts with the Egyptian leadership over the meeting between Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya," Saleh Raafat told the official Voice of Palestine radio station.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius cautioned on Tuesday that the Syrian crisis may lead to a regional conflict.

He warned that the crisis may also spread to Lebanon.

Egypt's public prosecutor on Tuesday ordered that seven U.S.-based Egyptian Copts be tried over their role in an anti-Islam film that sparked violent clashes around the world, his office said.

The seven -- Adel Riad, Morris Sadek, Nabil Bissada, Esmat Zaklama, Elia Bassily, Ihab Yaacoub and Jack Atallah -- were accused of "insulting the Islamic religion, insulting the Prophet (Mohammed) and inciting sectarian strife."

The international peace envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on Tuesday met Syrians staying at a Turkish refugee camp in his first encounter since taking over the mission from his frustrated predecessor.

The U.N.-Arab League envoy met representatives of some 1,300 Syrians at Altinozu camp in Hatay city, located on the border with their violence-racked homeland.

Foreign ministers of the regional "contact group" on Syria agreed at talks in Cairo to hold more consultations in New York later this month, the official MENA news agency reported on Tuesday.

The top diplomats of Egypt, Turkey and Iran met in Cairo to discuss developments in conflict-stricken Syria, but Saudi Arabia, which is also a member of the group, was notably absent from the meeting.