The number of Jews moving to Israel leaped in 2014 to its highest figure in a decade, with western Europe leading the way, the immigration ministry said Wednesday. 

Immigration hit a 10-year high, with the arrival of some 26,500 new residents, according to a joint statement with the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental organization tasked with encouraging Jews to move to Israel. 

Israel's government summoned the French ambassador on Wednesday over his country's support for a failed Palestinian bid to pass a U.N. resolution setting an end date for Israeli occupation.

Foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told Agence France-Presse that the ambassador, Patrick Maisonnave, was being summoned to the ministry in Jerusalem later in the day.

President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday signed a Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court, seeking a new avenue for action against Israel after a failed U.N. resolution on ending the occupation.

The Palestinians hope ICC membership will pave the way for war crimes prosecutions against Israeli officials for their actions in the occupied territories.

Members of Israel's ruling rightwing Likud began voting Wednesday for their party leader with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking another term at the helm ahead of snap elections in March.

The primary, in which 96,651 members are eligible to vote, is the first electoral hurdle for Netanyahu who is hoping to secure a third consecutive term in office.

Members of Israel's ruling Likud began voting Wednesday for their party leader with rightwing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking another term at the helm ahead of snap elections in March.

The primary, in which 96,651 members are eligible to vote, is the first electoral hurdle for Netanyahu who is hoping to secure a third consecutive term in office.

The commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has said there were no signs on the presence of terrorist groups south of the Litani River.

“In the area south of the Litani River all the way to the Blue Line there is no sign on the presence of extremist or terrorist groups that would put the stability of south Lebanon in danger,” said Maj. Gen. Luciano Portolano.

A Palestinian bid to secure a U.N. resolution setting an end date for the occupation failed to pass a Security Council vote in a move Israel hailed Wednesday as a victory.

China, France and Russia were among the eight countries that voted in favor of the text, but the resolution fell short of winning the nine "yes" votes necessary for adoption within the 15-member council. 

Israeli troops deployed Tuesday opposite the al-Wazzani River on the border with Lebanon and some of them took combat positions, as an Israeli force violated the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line in the Bustra area.

“Backed by a Merkava tank, 12 Israeli soldiers crossed the electronic fence in the al-Wazzani area at 3:00 am, erecting two tents around 50 meters away from the al-Wazzani River and 200 meters from the electronic fence,” Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

The Palestinian consensus government has failed to meet its commitment to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip, former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya has said.

Speaking late on Monday shortly after a ministerial delegation from the West Bank arrived in Gaza, Haniya accused the government of failing "to keep its commitments, by not carrying out reconstruction, nor unifying institutions under the Palestinian Authority nor organizing elections."

The Palestinian leadership on Monday presented changes to a U.N. draft resolution on statehood that could come up for a vote at the Security Council as early as this week.

The United States again rejected the text that would pave the way to a Palestinian state by setting a 12-month deadline to reach a final peace deal and calling for Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territory by the end of 2017.